144- 

I.C49P£ 



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Class F/^M- 



PRESKXTi;!) BY 



Brief History of 
Chatham 

Morris County, New Jersey 



By 

Charles A. Philhower, M. A. 



New York 

Lewis Historical Publishing Co. 

1914 






Aathpr 



DEC -2 



1915 



PREFACE 

The first thought of compiHng this history of Chatham was prompted 
b}- the assembling of certain facts concerning tl:e town for use in composing 
a community drama entitled "Amanda Minton's Dream." After tlie writing 
of this play by Mr. H. T. Strong and myself, and the successful rendi- 
tion of it by "The Chatham Players," I set about to amplify the brief data 
assembled and to put that which I found in readable form. Urgent requests 
were made by many of the citizens of the town that the material collected 
be published. When the History of Morris County was undertaken in 1913 
by the Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Mr. Chas. M. Lum was chosen as 
one of the editorial staff, and it was in response to Mr. Lum's request that 
this brief sketch was written for that publication. After the manuscript 
was finally accepted many of the citizens of the town expressed the desire 
to have the material bound in a separate pamphlet. This was found feasible 
at a small expense on the publishing side, and in consequence this history 
of the town is submitted. 

Grateful acknowledgment is herewith made to all who contributed in 
any way whatsoever to this work. Especially do I wish to make mention 
of the materials presented by H. T. Strong, James R. Littlejohn, Wm. H. 
Lum, Geo. Spencer, Guy Minton, Washington Bond, Nelson Kelley, Sr., 
and Miss Phoebe Potter. 

The work done by Mr. James R. Littlejohn in compiling data and 
making the maps in this pamphlet is of inestimable worth. 

While individuals might observe omissions and question certain state- 
ments, the greatest precaution has been exercised, and wherever it has been 
thought advisable the source of information has been interpolated in 
the text. 

C. A. P. 

Oct. 9, 1914. 



lO 



CONTENTS. 

Geological Story ■■,■■;■,■■,;■■ ■-■■^■■j't 'i'" ' 

Geological formation— Glacial period— Lake Passaic— Dead Lake. 

Indian Occupation ,''''':''' '^' ' '■ ' ' ' 

Land of Scheyichbi — Minsi Indians — Local tribes — Passaics — 
Sachems— Indian villages. 

Early Settlement ■ .- ■••■•• 

New York— Bergen— Newark— Elizabetli Town— I'lrst Purchases— 
Gov NichoUs— Geo. Carteret-Conlirmations to inhabitants of Newark— 
\ssignment to Robt. Gordon-Settlement at \Vhirpan>—\\ est Jersey 
■proprietors-^Conflicting Claims-First Settlers-Development of town 
east of river. 

Revolutionarv Period ■ ■ • •. ^'i' ' W ' >' 

Declaration of war-Gen. Chas. Lee and his army-Col Ford s 
Militia-Gen. Maxwell's Troops-Gen Sullivan-Tones-Sentinel at 
Prospect Hill-Revolutionary Soldiers-Patriotism of Whigs— Col. Shel- 
don— New Jersev Journal — Shepard Kollock— Chatbain Imprints - 
Encampment at Lowantica. l776-i777-Count D'.Anteroche-Exchange 
of Prisoners— Encampment at Morristoxyn l77?-8o-General Court- 
martial at Chatham-Inroads of British Soldiery-Gen ,?^^^;'T■' ' 
Brigade-Battle of Connecticut Farms-Battle of Spr.ngheld-Mut.nv 
of N J Troops-French and Continental Troops March through Chat- 
ham. ■ 1781-Imprisonment of Capt. .\sgill-Poem 'Chatham Bridge. 

The War of 1812— \'isit from Lafayette 

Churches ^^.^.^.^. ■ — -.^-^^ ■—; ^^r^' BVVinard-PresbVterian Church at 
Bottle llill-Methodist Church at Turkey-Lnion Ch";:<^h a Chatharn- 
First Presbvterian Church-First Methodist Church-Catholic Church- 
Congregational Church-Episcopal Church-Cemeteries. 

The P"^'JJ,J '-^■'°° l-^^-{ House-'oi<i ■.\cademy"-Teachers of the .\cad- 
emv-School on Passaic .\venue-School on Fairmo^int -"^venue-List of 
Principals-Private Schools-Schools at Coleman s Hill, In.on Hill, and 
Long Hill— State School Funds— Nathaniel Niles. 

•-p 1 »J "^ 

"'^ ■ .M'inisink Path-Road to EHzabeth Town-Newark and Morris Turn- 
Dike— Original Names of Streets-Morns & Essex R. R.— U L. & w. 
R R.-Morris County Traction Co-Elevation of Railroad Tracks. 

Hotels, Stores and Post Offices • • ■•.•,• • „■ ■ ■ ; ; ^5 

Timothv Day's Tavern-Crowell's Tavern--Cond,t s Tavern-Mer- 
chants: Jacob Morrell. Foster Horton, Rev. James CaUh e U Gen_ 
Mahlon .Minton— Postmasters : Daniel Crane, W m. R. MacUougal 
Stanley Post Office. 
Chatham Fish and Game Protective Association-Chatham Wheelmen .^8 

38 

Industnes^.^ ■Forges-'-Distillery-Saw' Milis-Flour' Mills-Brick Making- 
Rose Growing— Vapo-cresoline— Building Sand. 



26 
26 



Bobilation Day 41 

Doctors and Lawyers 41 

Dr. John C. Budd — Dr. Jephtha B. Munn — Dr. Geo. M. Swaim, et al. 
Lawyers : Frederick H. Lum — Chas. M. Lum — Guy Minton, et. al. 

Slavery 44 

Civil War 45 

Liberty Pole — Company C, 15th N. J. — List of soldiers from 
Chatham. 

Modern Growth 47 

Chatham Library — Chatham Press — Village of Chatham, Borough of 
Chatham — Mayoralty of Frederick H. Lum — Mayoralty of Frank L. 
Kelley. 

Officials of the Borough of Chatham, 1913 49 



Illustrations : 

The Munn House, McLaughlan House, Railroad Station. 
Bonnel House, Day House, Morrell House. 
Lum House, Chatham Hotel. 
Stanley Mill, Parrot Mill. 

Maps : 

Plots of land, 1695. 
John Day's Bridge, 1749. 
Map of Revolutionary Time. 
Map of 1845. 



HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

The history of Chatham may be considered under seven divisions, 
as follows: Geological story, Indian occupation, early settlement, Revolu- 
tionary period, community development. Civil War period, and modern 
growth. 

While the geological story of a locality is popularly not deemed 
a part of its history, yet it seems permissible to include such consideration 
when the record is especially noteworthy. Consequently, since the vicinity of 
Chatham has had a most remarkable geological career, it has been concluded 
wise bodi from the point of interest and of information to make it a part of 
this brief treatment. 

The region about Chatham like all others has passed through those 
formal periods of geological history which in the aggregate cover approxi- 
mately from 75.000,000 to 100,000,000 years. It had its beginning of life in 
the Archean era, when from 5,000 to 10,000 feet of sandstone and shale were 
laid down on various parts of the earth's crust. Then came the period of 
old life or paleozoic era at which time contemporaneously with the forma- 
tion of limestones, quartzites, and schists, swarms of animal life filled the 
waters and impenetrable jungles of vegetable growth covered the land. At 
the expiration of this period which possibly marks the termination of some 
80,000,000 years, our specially considered locality had not yet protruded 
from the antediluvian seas. 

Within the mesozoic era or period of middle life massive beds of red 
sandstone were deposited to the depth of 15,000 feet, and the vicinity of 
north central Jersey became a part of the continental mass of land. _ Soon 
after this event a great geological catastrophe took place. Those gigantic 
strata which made up the immediate bed-rock of much of the eastern part of 
Morris county were tilted, bent, warped, and broken. Great upheavals of 
molten rock emitted from the interior of the earth and the consequent result 
was the Long Hill Mountain, the First and Second Watchung Mountains, 
Riker's, and Hook's Mountains, together with the Palisades on the Hudson. 
On the outskirts of these mountains abbreviated lava flows were deposited 
and across the valleys dikes of trap rock were pushed up as adamantine as 
the surrounding hills. 

For some unknown reason the climatic conditions changed and in a 
brief geological period which followed, this region of volcanic heat and 
eruption was transformed into one of a most arctic character. It should be 
stated however that this transformation took place within that modern geo- 
logical time known as the cenozoic era or period of new life. There was so 
much snow and the cold was so intense that a great layer of ice was formed 
over the whole upper half of North America, reaching as far south 
as central New Jersey. This enormous ice sheet had a depth of a mile or 
more, and the limit of the southward advance of this extensive glacier was 
marked by a long line of glacial gravel which passed through what is now 
Chatham in its upward curve across the State from the site of Amboy on the 



2 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

coast to Riegelsville on the Delaware. Later there was another change in the 
climate and the thick floor of ice began to meh. Large streams of water 
flooded over this ice front and eventually heaped up great mounds of gravel 
like Coleman's Hill, Duchamp's, and Molitor's sand pits. In certain stagnant 
pools a silty limestone sediment was laid down making clay beds like those 
of the old brick yard and the deposit west of Passaic avenue, in the vicinity 
of the old school. Previous to this glacial period the trunk stream which 
drained the country west of the Watchung Mountains flowed through a deep 
gap beneath what is now Morris avenue in Summit. When the glacier 
receded this gap was filled with gravel and sand to a depth of about 200 feet, 
and the water from the melting ice was shut in behind the hills making a 
lake extending from Pompton and Little Falls around to Millington and 
the Great Swamp. When this lake was at its maximum depth the vicinity of 
Chatham was about 150 feet beneath its surface, and the outlet was at 
Muggy Hollow near Liberty Corner. Finally the lake broke through the 
First and Second Watchung ^fountains at Little Falls and Paterson. and 
drained the consequent valley through the present stream bed of the Passaic 
river. The gravel of the terminal moraine originally piled up by the glacier 
formed a barrier in the drainage of this lake at Stanley, and for a consid- 
erable time a minor body of water referred to in geological history as Dead 
Lake, extended southwestward from Stanley towards Millington. This 
lake eventually broke through the gravel deposit at Stanley, and the Passaic 
Valley throughout its whole extent was finally drained, leaving no vestige 
of the former lake excepting shore deposits now observed here and there on 
the hill sides. (U. S. Geolog. .Sur\-ey, Passaic Folio i.) Even to the 
present day remembrance of "old Lake Passaic" is had in the springtime in 
the way of the freshet which overflows the meadows for many miles. After 
its drainage there were without doubt many marshes left in the vicinity of 
the lake bottom. That locality known from the earliest settlement as the 
"sunken lands" in and about Canoe Brook is a typical form of those marshes. 
Considerable evidence attests that the hills and valleys of this region 
were overrun with animals of a gigantic size. Direct proof of this is had in 
finding about the year 1865 the teeth and bones of a mastodon in the bottom 
of a spring in the sunken lands on the Morhouse farm. One of these teeth 
is now in the possession of Mr. David Dickinson. However plentiful these 
animals might have been very few remains are found, and it is certain that 
they were extinct long before the coming of the American Indian. 

Indian Occupation — The Lenni-Lenape Indians who were the original 
inhabitants of the land of Scheyichbi (Indian name for New Jersey) came 
into this country from beyond the Delaware or Lenapewihittuck (The River 
of the Lenape) at a very early date, probably 800 to 1000 years ago. 
[Stockton's "Stories of New Jersey," p. 11.] These Indians were divided 
into three divisions ; the Minsi of the northern part of New Jersey, the 
Unami of the Central, and the Unalachtigo of the southern part. The 
vicinity of Chatham lay within the dominion of the Minsi. The central seat 
of their encampment however was back of the Blue Mountains along the 
Delaware north of the Water Gap. It is said that regularly in the spring- 
time these Indians would migrate over the old Minisink trail, which path 
came through Culver's Gap, by way of Lake Hopatcong, through Dover, and 
Chatham, through the Short Hill's Gap, thence to Elizabeth Town, and 
across the Raritan at Perth Amboy to Shrewsbury Inlet. There they would 
enjoy themselves feeding on the oysters of the coast. The naine ]VIinisink 
Crossi.ng which was applied to the ford of the Passaic River in Chatham 



MORRIS COUNTY 3 

derived its name from this practice, and was one of a number of river cross- 
ings in the path leading from the Minisink country. 

It is questionable whether that tribe of Indians known as the Sanhicans 
which lived on the flats east of the Watchungs, and were inveterate enemies 
of the Manhatae held dominion west of the Watchung Mountains. [Barber 
& Howe, p. 60.] Tradition has it that the local tribe of Indians resi- 
dent in the Passaic Valley in and about Chatham were known as the 
Passaics or Passaya. The name Passaic is of Indian origin, and was 
without doubt the name of the tribe which inhabited the valley west 
of the Watchungs. The original pronunciation is rather uncertain. Even 
the word Pecheise is used in early documents. [Answer to Bill of Chan- 
cery, p. 38.] Various members of the tribe pronounced the 
name with slight variations in consequence of speech impediments and char- 
acteristic enunciations. This is evidenced by the various spellings of the 
name in the old Indian deeds and consignments. The following are some of 
the original spellings : Passaya, Pessaya, Pessayak, Passayonck, Pasagack, 
Passawa, Pasawack, Pishawack. Passawick, Pesawick, Piscawick, Pesainck, 
Pesoick, Passaiacke, Pissaick, Pisaicke, Passick, Passaick, Passaic. [Col- 
lected from N. J. Arch., ist series, vol. xxi.] It will be observed that there 
is a rather interesting evolution of the pronunciation from Passaya to Pas- 
saic. The first spelling given is that found in an Indian deed to Arent 
Schuyler, dated June 6, 1695, and is doubtless the most nearly correct of 
any. The Minisink Crossing of the Passaic is sometimes referred to as the 
crossing of the Fishawack in the valley of the great Watchung. This word 
Fishawack is probably a corruption of Pishawack. The letter P was pos- 
sibly misinterpreted for the letter F. The Indian interpretation of the word 
is a valley, however the word Passayak has been interpreted as meaning 
peace. 

John Reid's account of the "mountainous districk" of Nova Caesarea, 
1685, states "Indian natives are few." [The Model of the Government of 
the Province of East New Jersey in America. Edinburgh, John Reid, 1685, 
p. 70.] Reference to a tribe of Indians called the Passayoncks is made in the 
"Hand Book of American Indians" and reads as follows: "A Delaware 
village on Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania in 1648. Macaulay calls the band 
a part of the Manta, and says that they lived along the west bank of the 
lower Delaware extending into the state of Delaware." [Hand Book of 
American Indians, ii. p. 208.] Manta according to Brinton is a corruption 
of Monthee, the dialectic form of Munsee or Minsi among the Mahicans and 
tribes of Northeast Jersey. Later these east Jersey Indians lived on the 
eastern bank of the Delaware in the vicinity of Salem. This is quite con- 
clusive evidence that the Passayoncks were none other than a division of 
the Minsi who occupied the Passaic valley in the i6th century, left this lo- 
cality in the early part of the 17th century, and migrated to south Jersey 
where in the i8th century they were incorporated with the Unalachtigo Dela- 
wares. Thence they went to Penn.sylvania and northern Delaware. In 
consequence the Passaic Valley was found in 1685, according to John Reid, 
inhabited by few Indians. 

The names of sachems or chiefs of the petty kingdoms east of the 
Passaic were Seweckroneck, Mindowaskein, and Canundus. The Indian 
sachems living on the western side of the Passaic and at the foot of Long 
Hill (known and called by the Indians Tantomwom) were Sennachus, Non- 
sechem, and Nowenock. [Bill of Chancery, pp. 56-59.] 

Much evidence concerning the location of Indian villages in this vicinity 



4 HISTORY OF CHATHA^I 

is obtained througli the implements picked up. From arrow lieads and stone 
axes found it has been concluded that there were camp sites at the following 
places : Dickinson's farm, the Budd farm down Budd Lane, Coleman's Hill, 
Ducliamp's sand pit, the spring near the pumping station, the bluff on the 
western bank of the Passaic north of Main street, the knoll on the Vander- 
poel estate, the hillside in the vicinity of Stanley, and the farm of Mr. 
Schwartz on the Black Swamp. Some of these sites were probably not 
permanent, being used occasionally during the wanderings of the Indians 
over the state. As recently as the early part of the 19th century the Indians 
were known to pass through Chatham on their way to the coast. The late 
Barnabas Bond said that he remembered the Indians stopping for the night 
in his father's barn, and that he had vivid recollections of seeing them pay 
for their night's lodging by performing a war dance in the morning as an 
amusement for the town folk. It is said that up to 1850 delegations were 
sent from the remnant tribes of this locality living at that time in the west, 
to look over their old hunting fields in the Passaic \'alley, the Indian burial 
ground at Hanover Neck, and to renew in their traditional history recollec- 
tions of the old land marks. [Tradition, reported by W'm. Budd.] 

Previous to the year 1680 the Watchung Mountains formed a frontier 
barrier beyond which the white man dared not venture. Hostile Indians 
had their encampments dotted throughout this wilderness, and trails led 
from one Indian settlement to another. The clearings along the banks of 
the Passaic are said to have been the scene of many a battle between the 
aboriginal tribes. The fields beyond the Cheapside Bridge are often referred 
to as one of these battle grounds. The Indian has now long since left this 
valley and the only recollection of him at the present time is the occasional 
arrow-head picked up by the farmer or the student of Indian lore. 

Early Settlement — It was seventy-five years or more after Henry Hud- 
son first sailed up the river bearing his name, in i6og. before any settlement 
was made by the white man beyond the Watchung Mountains. A trading 
post was established at Bergen (Jersey City) in 1614, and scattered settle- 
ments were made at Hoboken in 1641. After the Indian massacre in 1643 
and the consequent outbreak of the Indians against the whites in Pavonia 
(name for the Jersey shore of the Hudson) in 1654, emigrants were advised 
to make their settlements in groups in order to protect themselves from the 
Indians. In consequence of this, the first concentrated settlement was 
made at Bergen, 1660. Four years later a settlement at Elizabeth Town was 
headed by Daniel Denton, and in 1666 some New Englanders from Connec- 
ticut settled at Newark. It was from these settlements, particularly the 
latter, that early adventurers came into the land beyond the Great Watchung. 

One of the first descriptions of this territory is contained in the follow- 
ing: "There are little hills from the Raritan River which is about the middle 
of this Province, that go to the very North-\\'est bounds of it, in which are 
abundant of good Mill Stones to be had. and there are many, both corn and 
Saw Mills set and setting up already, also on the other side of these Moun- 
tains, there is found fresh Rivulets, fit for setting of In-Land-Towns, and a 
great deal of Meadow-ground upon the banks thereof so that there is abund- 
ance of Hay to be had for Foddering of Cattle in the \\'inter time and these 
meadows show the Country is not altogether covered with Timber."' [The 
model of the Gov. of the Prov. of East New Jersey in America, Edinburgh, 
John Reid, 1685, p. 68.] 

The first purchase including the territory west of the Watchung Moun- 



MORRIS COUNTY 5 

tains was made by Governor Nicolls, on October 28, 1684, from the Indian 
chief Rlatano. The land covered by this patent was of great dimension and 
embraced not only the present Union county, but also a small part of Alorris 
county and a considerable portion of Somerset. The Nicolls Grant covering 
the western part of Morris county included Chatham. Stephen Osborn 
accompanied by the Indian sagamores marked out the boundaries of the 
purchase. The particular Indian who helped decide the western boundary 
was Wewanapo, a cousin of one of the sagamores that sold the land origin- 
ally. The line which was established on the i6th day of July, 1684, and set 
the first boundaries of Elizabeth Town, ran from Piscataway westward 
towards the Green river near where it comes out of the mountain ; from 
thence the surveyors encompassed the foot of the mountain directed by the 
Indian till they came to the Minisink Path, and then came down to Elizabeth 
Town. It was affirmed however by an Indian chief that this compass in- 
cluded only a part of the town's land. [Hatfield's "History of Elizabeth 
Town,'' pp. 36 and 228.] When the boundaries of Elizabeth Town were 
definiteh- passed by the Assembly in October of the year 1693, a great part 
of Morris county was included within the township. It was described by 
the legislature as follows : — "The Township of Elizabeth Town shall include 
all the land from the mouth of the Raway River west to Woodbridge-Stake, 
and from thence westerly along the Line of the County to the Partition 
Line of the Province, and from the mouth of the said Raway River, up the 
Sound to the mouth of the Bound Creek, from thence to the Bound Hill, 
and from thence northwest to the Partition Line of the Province." This 
territory included Union county and large portions of Somerset, Hunterdon, 
Morris, Warren and Sussex counties including Chatham, Morristown, 
Schooley's Mountain and Newton. [Hatfield's Hist, Elizabeth Town, page 
240.] 

The Indian sachems, Wewanapo, Sennachus, and Nonsachem sold to 
George Carteret for the sum of £55, on April 23, 1680, a tract of land lying 
up in the mountains. This purchase lay upon the brook, "called by the 
Indians Oppinqua," (possibly Day's Brook), "there being a long mountain 
called by the Indians Tantomwom." Proof is given in the Bill of Chancery 
[p. 60] that this Long Mountain was Long Hill. If the Oppinqua were 
Day's Brook the purchase covered this immediate vicinity. It is possible 
that the brook referred to might have been the Black Brook of the Great 
Swamp. On October 30, 1684. Gawen Lowry and others of Elizabeth Town 
bought of the Indians, Seweckroneck, Mindowaskein, Canundus and We- 
wanapee large tracts about Green Brook and the Blue Hills (the Watchung 
Mountains were referred to in the early times as the Blue Hills). This pur- 
chase lay on the eastern side of the Passaic river and extended from Scotch 
Plains northward to the locality of Canoe brook. A part of this land is 
known in the Bill of Chancery as lots 125 and 126. [Bill of Chan., p. 56.] 

Land was frequently purchased by the whites through deceptive bar- 
gainings with the unsophisticated Indians. A tricky method resorted to by 
the settlers in making purchases along the Passaic has been handed down to 
his posterity by Mr. Harvey Lum. Occasionally agreements were made for 
tracts of land as large as that which could be embraced with the hide of an 
ox. The Indian, thinking that the land in question was no larger than that 
which the hide would cover, made the exchange for a small consideration. 
But the interpretation placed on the bargain by the white man was quite 
different from that understood by the Indian. Instead of the land being the 
size of the hide, it was. to the contrarv, of rather extensive dimensions. The 



6 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

ox hide was cut into the narrowest possible strips and linked together into 
one continuous cord. In consequence of this strategy the land embraced be- 
came a lot of considerable size. On not a few occasions was property thus 
mveigled from the original inhabitants of this locahty. ' 

It appears in the records in Trenton among the deeds and assignments 
of land between 1664 and 1703 that small plots of land were sold to the 
inhabitants of Newark at the point where the Indian trail to Minisink 
crossed the Passaic river. Considering that the size of the^e plof^ was 
somewhere about twenty acres, one may justly conclude they were purchased 
for the purpose of making a settlement. Tuttle, in his history of the Pres- 
byterian Church of Madison, states that about 1685 a few families from 
hlizabethtown and Newark settled beyond the Watchung Mountains The 
fol owing confirmation shows that a number of the inhabitants of Newark 
had purchased land previous to the year 1698 at the Minisink crossing in 
Chatham and is rather conclusive evidence that a settlement was made soon 
after this date. 

HT The following is an excerpt taken from the records in Trenton- "i6q8 
March 28. Confirmation to Elizabeth, widow of David Ogden in Newark' 
m right of her father, Capt. Samuel Swaine of Newark, deceased of twenty 
acres there on the south side of Long Hill, south the road, west Nathaniel 
\V heeler and John Johnson, north George Day, east John Curtis and a piece 
of meadow, northeast Thomas Peirson, southeast the "great island " south- 
west Samuel Freeman, northwest the creek." [N. T. Arch., ist series vol 
21, p. 281.] Each of these landowners lived at the" time in' Newark It is 
quite probable that Day and Peirson moved on their lands soon after this 
f\ Tt-'^ particular tract was located west of the Passaic river and north 
of the Minisink trail. The great island referred to was without doubt the 
IS and in the nver at the crossing which was possibly called, "the great 
island, in contradistinction to the little island at the crossing in Stanley 
Ihe location of this tract is most definitely determined through the com- 
bined references to Long Hill and this island, since there is no other island 
m the Passaic nver to which reference may be made as "the great island " 
in the vicinity of Long Hill. The statement that this land was on the side 
ot Long Hill does not necessarily place it immediately on the slope of the 
mountain. 1 he land at this juncture along the river might justly have been 
referred to at this time as lying on the side of Long Hill. 

Another reference in the same volume goes to verify the location of this 
tract of land at the place heretofore selected. "1702. April i, confirmation 
to John Johnson of Monmouth County in right of headlands of a lot in 
Essex County on the Passaic River where the road from Minisinks to 
Ehzabethtown crosses it." [N. J. Archiv., ist series, vol. ii, p. 334 ] The 
limits of the counties at this time were quite indefinite and a lot at the 
crossing might have been referred to as lying in Essex county without any 
great mistake in location. 

In the earliest time there were two gate ways through which the settlers 
were able to reach the country beyond the \\'atchung'^ Mountain^ These 
were the gaps at Scotch Plains and at Short Hills through which Indian paths 
ran to the open low lands lying to the southeast. Scotch Plains was settled 
by Ihomas Gordon as early as November 18, i68s. [Contributions to East 
lerscy History, Whitehead, p. 62I. and surveys were made in the Passaic 
Valley according to a map dated May 3, 1749. taken from a survey made 
(Va r^" *^.°'"1°" °f Gordonston in Scotland. This map is in the possession 
ot Mr. David Dickinson. The survey made for Mr. Gordon was for his first 




Original owners of lands at Minnisink Crossing, 1698. They were residents of Newark. 
Map drawn by James M. Littlejohn. Chatham. 



MORRIS COUNTY 7 

division of land in the province, and consisted of an allotment of fifteen 
hundred acres as the following item shows: "1701, June 10, Confirmation 
to Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonston, Scotland, as his first division of land 
in the province, fifteen hundred acres on the south side of the Passaick 
along the path from Elizabethtown to Minisink." [N. J. Arch., ist series, 
vol. 21, p. 151.] Sir Robert Gordon was one of the proprietors of East 
Jersey and this is indisputable evidence that his first allotment of land lay 
on the east side of the Passaic at Chatham. From this map of 1749 it may 
be concluded that settlements were made in this section of the Passaic Valley 
b}' pioneers from Scotch Plains. 

It is stated that settlements were made in Morris county as early as 
1685 but no definite information concerning them is given. [Barber and 
Howe, p. 379; also Hist. Madison Pres. Church, Tuttle, p. 10.] Soon after 
the Robert Treat and Daniel Denton settlements, pioneers came 
over the Blue Hills from Newark and Elizabeth Town. In their attempt to 
cross the mountains there was but one way of ingress. This was by the old 
Minisink Indian Trail which passed through the Short Hills Gap and led 
directly to Chatham. The ford of the river was known in those early times 
as the Crossing of the Fishawack in the Valley of the Great Watchung. 
The chief settlement at that time was probably made at Whippanong or 
W'hippany. There is considerable evidence that a settlement was made at 
the time mentioned in the attractive locality near the crossing of the river 
at Chatham. However, no authentic record has been found. 

The settlement at Whippanong which included the vicinity of Chatham, 
was organized into one of the townships of Burlington county in the year 
1700. [Proceedings N. J. Hist. Soc, 2d series, vol. 2, p. 18.] Since Chat- 
ham lay in the territory of the disputed claims between East Jersey and 
West Jersey, considerable confusion arose concerning the county to which 
the town belonged. Frequent references are found in which the territory 
is placed in Burlington county of West Jersey, and likewise, almost as many 
references locate it in Essex county of East Jersey. Tradition has it that 
William Penn owned a large tract of land in the upper part of Burlington 
county about the year 1701. Purchases were made from this tract by many 
of the proprietors of \Vest Jersey. This land rightfully belonged to East 
Jersey and these purchases led to the conflicting claims between the pro- 
prietors of East and West Jersey. 

It is definitely known that families moved from Newark and Eilzabeth 
Town west of the Passaic and settled along its banks in the year 1710. 
The attraction which lured the adventurer beyond the Blue Hills or Watch- 
ung Mountains was not only the fertile land in the Valley of the Great 
Watchung but also the iron ore deposits lying in the hills of north central 
Jersey. Deposits of ore were discovered by Arent Schuyler previous to 
1695 and in consequence of his discovery many forges were located through- 
out the territory of Morris county and the locality became known as "The 
Old Forges."' In a letter written by Washington during the Revolutionary 
War he states that there were from 80 to 100 forges within the limits of this 
county. Tradition says that one of these forges was situated at the crossing 
of the Passaic river, near where the mill now stands. Local evidence points 
toward the possible site of this forge having been near the crossing of the 
Passaic river at Summit avenue. Another of these forges was located at 
Green \'illage. It is said that the iron ore found at Hibernia and Wharton 
was transported by means of pack horses and manufactured into arms, 



8 HISTORY OF CHATHAIM 

ammunition, farming utensils, and ship trimmings. These were later trans- 
ported to Newark and Elizabeth Town for sale. 

In the year 1713 the township of Hanover ceased to be a part of 
Burlington county through the setting off of the county of Hunterdon, and 
for the next twenty-two years the territory in and about Wliippanong was 
a township in that county. 

As previously stated, the land in this locality was in the early part of 
the i8th century the cause of a great deal of controversy which was brought 
about by the conflicting claims between the proprietors of East and West 
Jersey. The proprietors of West Jersey in their ambition for the acquisition 
of land did not stop with the limit of the old Keith Line established in 1687 
between the two Jerseys, but extended their claims over into the Passaic 
\"alley making the eastern boundary of West Jersey the Passaic river. 
William Penn, John Budd, and John Hayward were the principal pro- 
prietors who laid claim to the land of this immediate vicinity. According 
to a map made April 4, 1744 showing the encroachments of the W'est Jersey 
proprietors east of the Quintipartite Line, Thomas and Richard Penn owned 
4,937 acres in the Great Black Swamp. [This map is in the Surveyor Gen- 
eral's office at Perth Amboy.] To William Penn belonged in the year 1715, 
1250 acres in the vicinity of Dutch Town (Floral Hill) and to Abraham 
Chapman 833 acres in and about Stanley. John Budd besides possessing a 
great tract at Whippany, owned 1250 acres extending westward from the 
Passaic river through the present property of Frank M. Budd. In the 
immediate locality of Chatham 870 acres were purchased by John Budd for 
John Hayward in the year 1716. According to tradition, in 1721 John Budd 
was the owner of a tract of land to the extent of 847 acres including Chat- 
ham. This tract was probably the identical tract formerly owned by Hay- 
ward less a narrow strip of possibly twenty-three acres which e.Ktended to 
the west towards Madison. John Budd did not live on this tract, for a bill 
of sale, dated December 20, 1731, reads as follows: "From John Budd of 
Hanover to Samuel Bustill a certain brick dwelling house, etc." [Liber C — 3 
Burlington, p. 89.] Hanover was the home of the Budds until the time 
when Dr. John C. Budd moved from that place to the farm which is now 
in the possession of Mr. Frank M. Budd down Budd Lane. With all the 
diligent research which has been made the most definite date arrived at con- 
cerning the early settlement of Chatham is that of 1730, when John and 
Daniel Day settled in the locality where the road crossed the Passaic river 
west of the Watchung Mountains. These men came from Long Island. It 
is reported that John Day bought 250 acres of land from John Budd. 
George Day came into New Jersey and lived on the north side of Long 
Hill. [Littell's Genealogy, p. 113.] On the map formerly referred to in the 
possession of Mr. David Dickinson it is recorded that a George Day lived 
near the Passaic river south of the road leading to Elizabeth Town near 
the crossing in Chatham, at that time spoken of as "John Day's Bridge." 
It is possible that this was the George Day who settled on the north side of 
Long Hill. At this time. 1749, John Day owned the land west of the Passaic 
river including the present limits of Chatham. Nathaniel Bonnel came from 
Long Island to Elizabeth Town, from thence he moved to the Passaic river, 
and became one of the earliest settlers in Chatham. There is slight evidence 
in the map referred to above that a Mr. Bonnel lived on the present site of 
the \'anderpoel estate in 1749. However it is stated that the Bonnels settled 
originally on the present Bonnel homestead in Stanley. The first settlers in 
the Passaic valley west of the W'atchung Mountains were of English and 




Jacob MorrcU llousc of Revolutionary times. East Main Street, Chatham. 
Washington stoi-iped here frequently. 




Uay .Maiisiini, iii wliuh W a-iinnjjion \\ a^ enti-rlained, Klwood .\venue, Chatham. 




ionnell Homestead of Revolutionary times. Watchung Avenue. Chatham, 



MORRIS COUNTY 9 

Scotch origin. The former came from Connecticut to Long Island and 
thence to Newark. The latter landed at Elizabeth Town and came over the 
mountains either directly from Elizabeth or from the Scotch Plains Settle- 
ment. The early family names in and about Chatham in Morris county, 
which county was set off from Hunterdon in 1798, we find are Day, 
Bonnel, Budd, Carter, Raymond, Genung, Lum, Ward, Bruen, Spencer, and 
Alorhouse. The homestead of the Day family was located on the present 
site of the Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church. It is said however that 
originally the family of Days lived somewhere near the hotel on the western 
side of the Passaic river north of Main street. Dr. John C. Budd was the 
first of the Budd family to live in this vicinity and through his reputation as 
a doctor the land about the farm where Frank M. Budd now lives became 
widely known. The road leading from J^lain street to his farm was in 
consequence named Budd Lane. Unfortunately the name of this street was 
changed to Passaic avenue. Previous to the Revolution there were two 
roads leading from the road to Elizabeth Town to the Cheapside Bridge. 
One followed the river and left Main street opposite the old Jacob Morrell 
house and came out on the present Passaic avenue just beyond the Budd 
farm. The other went down Elmwood avenue, running north of Coleman's 
Hill. The present Passaic avenue evidently was built to take the place of 
the two. The nucleus of the Bonnel family was located in the vicinity of 
Stanley where a Mr. Bonnel built a grist mill. For many years this locality 
was referred to as Bonnel Town. In 1749 a Peter Raymond lived on the 
Ridge Farm back of the present Allen estate east of the Passaic river. 
The Genungs originally settled on the slope of the Hill south from Division 
street. The oldest known residence of the Lums in Chatham was on the cor- 
ner of Fairmount avenue and Main street. The progenitors of this family 
owned land in the vicinity as early as 1730. It is reported that the farm of 
Frank M. Budd was called the '"Lum Estate," during pre-Revolutionary times. 
The dwelling on Coleman's Hill was known as the Ward Mansion and was 
the home from which many of the noted men of that family sprang. Mr. 
Montgomery Ward, a notable merchant of Chicago, was a descendant of 
this family. He was born in Chatham, in 1843, in the house on East Main 
street now owned by Mr. Russel Budd. Israel W'ard, of Revolutionary 
times, was the great-grandfather of Montgomery. Israel was a captain in 
the Eastern Battalion in the Revolution, and also earned a military title in 
the French and Indian war. Mr. Ward's property on Coleman's Hili 
was later occupied by his son Aaron Ward who died 181 1. It is said 
that Gen. Washington was entertained at the home of Israel Ward 
when Aaron was a small child. The Morhouses referred to in Chatham 
history lived in the vicinity of the Orange w'ater works. For a time 
previous to the purchase of the present Vanderpoel estate by David 
Vanderpoel in 1771, Moses Carter owned that farm. At Union Hill the 
first settlement was made by the Bruens prior to the Revolution and various 
members of the family have lived in this vicinity ever since that time. 

The earliest history' of Chatham deals with that locality east of the 
Passaic river and at the crossing about Parrot's Mill. The notable Day's 
Tavern often spoken of in connection with Washington, was located on the 
north side of the turnpike just east of where the River road turns off to the 
south. For a long time a mass of shrubbery and an old stone horse-block 
marked the site of this public house which was built about the year 1750. 
Foster Horton's store of the Revolutionary times was situated west of the 
Passaic on the south side of the turnpike road near the old mill pond. 



10 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

Foster Horton was notable especially through his father, Azariah Horton, 
who was the first American foreign missionary. [Hist. Discourse, Rev. 
E. P. Gardner, p. 7.] Colonel Seeley of Revolutionary fame kept a tavern 
previous to the Revolutionary War, just west of Foster Horton's store, on 
the same side of the road to Elizabeth Town. Not far west from Colonel 
Seeley 's tavern, on the south side of the road, was the home of Jacob Moi- 
rell,no\v occupied by Mr. Fred TaUmadge. It is said that the residence of John 
Day was located on the north side of the road, west of the Passaic and near 
the river. A map heretofore referred to, which was found by the author of 
this sketch in the year 1912 represents a survey made for Andrew Johnson on 
May 3, 1749. This map was among some old papers in the home of Mr. David 
Dickinson, and the same is now in his possession. The dwellings of George 
Day and Peter Raymond to whom references has been made, are definitely 
located thereon. This little settlement lying peaceably along the Passaic 
was known until 1775 as John Day's Bridge. The name was changed about 
this date and the town was henceforth called Chatham after William Pitt, 
the Earl of Chatham. In consequence of his speeches in Parliament in 
defence of the colonies many towns throughout the east were given his 
name. The derivation of Chatham is from the Anglo Saxon — chete, cot- 
tage ; ham, village ; a village of cottages. 

Revolutionary Period — When the declaration of war was announced by 
the Continental Congress the quiet little town of Chatham came forward 
with its aid for the great cause. There had been much talk of British op- 
pression and the likelihood of war, and when the final decision was made 
many were ready to enlist in the army. From this time forth until the close 
of the conflict Chatham was the scene of constant military maneuvers. Part 
of the army was doubtlessly kept stationed here throughout the whole eight 
years following 1775. Lord Stirling of Basking Ridge assembled troops in 
the early part of 1776, and men from Chatham joined these ranks. A 
liberty pole was raised in front of Day's Tavern. Young men joined them- 
selves into battalions and began drilling. An eighteen pound cannon was 
planted on Prospect Hill, since called Hobart's Hill, to give the alarm by day 
in case of the approach of the enemy and a tar barrel was fixed on the top 
of a pole near by to be set on fire to give the alarm by night. 

November of 1776 was a time that tried the loyalty of the staunchest 
patriot. Washington had lost at White Plains; Fort Washington was taken 
November i6th ; Fort Lee was evacuated on the i8th ; and the retreat across 
New Jersey began, with the British close upon the rear guard of the army. 
Families in Elizabeth Town and Newark, seeing the sorry plight in which 
they would be placed by the British occupation, hastily loaded their belong- 
ings and started over the turnpike road westward. For many days the 
highway through Chatham was the scene of passing families with wagon 
loads of personal property seeking safety beyond the Passaic river. To- 
gether with these were many soldiers who had left the army on account of 
sickness. General Charles Lee was ordered to follow \\'ashington across 
the State with reinforcements. Washington wrote to him from Philadelphia 
saying "Do come on, your arrival may be fortunate." Leaving Peekskill, 
Lee reached IMorristown, December 8, 1776, with his division of 4,000 
men. In a letter written from that place to a committee of Congress he 
said, "If I was not taught to think the army with Gen. \\'ashingfton had 
been considerably reinforced, I should immediate!}' join him; but as I am 
assured he is very strong I should imagine we can make a better impres- 
sion by beating and harassing their detached parties in the rear, for which 




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Chatham. John Day's Bridge, or Minnisink Crossing, 1749- From original in hands 
of David Dickinson. Drawn hy James M. Littlejohn. 



MORRIS COUNTY ii 

purpose a good post at Chatham seems the best calculated. It is at a 
happy distance from Newark, Elizabeth Town, Woodbridge and Bound 
Brook. We shall, I expect, annoy, distract, and consequently weaken them 
in a desultory war." (American Archives, 5th Series, vol. iii. p 1121, and 
Life of \\'ashington, Irving, chap. xlii. ) 

Evidently Lee came down to Chatham from Morristown to look over 
the ground, for on the same day, December 8, he wrote from Day's Tavern, 
Chatham: "In reply to Washington's letter by Maj. Hoope just received, 
I am extremely shocked to hear that your force is so inadequate to the 
necessity of your situation, as I had been taught to think you had been 
considerably reinforced. Your last letter proposing a plan of surprises and 
forced marches, convinced me that there was no danger of your being 
obliged to pass the Delaware ; in consequence of which proposals, I have 
put myself in a position the most convenient to co-operate with you by 
attacking their rear. I cannot persuade myself that Philadelphia is their 
object at present. * * * It will be difficult, I am afraid to join you ; but 
cannot I do you more service by attacking their rear?" Washington re- 
plied instantly : "Philadelphia beyond all question is the object of the 
enemy's movements, and nothing less than our utmost exertions will pre- 
vent Gen. Howe from possessing it. The force I have is weak, and utterly 
incompetent to that end. I must therefore entreat you to push on with 
every possible succor you can bring." (Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii, 1138.) 

On the 9th of December, Lee, who was stationed at Chatham, received 
information from Heath that three of the regiments detached under Gates 
from the Northern army had arrived from Albany at Peekskill. He in- 
stantly wrote to him to forward them to Morristown without loss of time. 
"I am in hopes to reconquer (if I may so express myself) the Jerseys. 
It was really in the hands of the enemy before my arrival." 

Lee left Morristown a few days later, marched to Vealtown (Bemards- 
ville) and made his quarters at Basking Ridge, some distance from the 
encampment of his army where he was captured by the enemy. Gates at 
once started from Peekskill to march for Morristown, but got no further 
than Walpack, Sussex county, where he was snowed in. Lee at this time 
was known to have made many sarcastic remarks about the commander-in- 
chief, and wrote to Gates : "Entre nous, a certain great man is most 
damnably deficient." 

These actions, remarks, and responses by Charles Lee show the caliber 
of the man. He was ambitious to be commander-in-chief, set his opinions 
against those of Washington, attempted to persuade Congress that Washing- 
ton was incompetent, suggested mutiny within the army, and finally ex- 
posed himself to capture. His keeping his quarters at Chatham while his 
army was at Morristown was much in line with his practice at Baskmg 
Ridge and might have led to similar results. 

Colonel Ford's militia was stationed back of Short Hills for the pur- 
pose of watching every movement of the enemy on the plains toward 
Elizabeth Towai. Rev. Mr. Caldwell, who had removed with his fam- 
ily from Connecticut Farms to Turkey (New Providence), wrote to Gen- 
eral Lee on the 12th of December as follows: "At a Council of the Field 
Officers this morning, a majority of them advised to remove the brigade 
of militia back again to Chatham, for which they assign these reasons. Many 
of the Militia, rather fond of plunder and adventure, kept a continual 
scouting, which kept out so many detached parties, that the body was 
weakened ; and the enemy now being stronger at Elizabeth Town than they 



12 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

are, they thought they would better serve the cause by lying at Chatham till 
the expected army approaches for their support." [American Archives, 5th 
series, vol. 3, p. 1189.] This letter did not reach Gen. Lee for on the next 
morning he was captured. Colonel Ford evidently fell back to Chatham 
for on the night of December 17th he wrote the following letter from Chat- 
ham to General Heath: "We have since sunset had a brush with the enem_>, 
four miles below this, in which we have suffered, and our militia much dis- 
heartened. They are all retreated to this place and will in all probability be 
attacked by day-break. The enemy, we have reason to believe, is double 
our numbers. If in your wisdom you can assist us, we may possibly beat 
them yet; but without your aid we can't stand. They are encamped (say 
1000 British troops) at Springfield, and will be joined by four hundred and 
fifty Waldeckers from Elizabeth Town, by the next morning's light." [Am. 
Arch., vol. 3, pp. 1235, 1260, 1277.] Jacob Ford Jr. was the colonel com- 
mandant of the American troops lying at Chatham. Major Spencer dis- 
patched a light horseman to Colonel Ford with word that the British were 
approaching Springfield. The colonel went immediately to his aid, the 
enemy was driven back, and a brief campaign followed in which the brave 
and courageous Colonel Ford was much exposed and exhausted. Soon 
afterwards he was seized with an attack of pneumonia and died in Jan- 
uary, 1777. [Morristown Bill of Mortality, p. 29.] A letter of Colonel 
Symmes gives a much more detailed account of this transaction. [N. J. 
Journal, No. 4636.] 

On the 20th of December, 1776, General Maxwell was ordered by 
Washington to take command of about 800 militia and to annoy and harass 
the enemy in the vicinity of Elizabeth Town and to cut ofif his convoys. 
The state of afifairs at this time was reported from Chatham by General 
McDougall as follows : "John Halstead left Elizabeth Town this morning 
at eight o'clock. Says there is no troops in Elizabeth Town but Waldeckers, 
the same that has been there for two weeks past. Says the drums beat this 
morning about day-break, and he understood they were to have marched ; 
but that they did not, and the reason why, as he understood, was the badness 
of the weather. Knows not which way they were to march, but it is said 
they were to have a little march out o' town ; that he thinks six or seven 
hundred British troops went through town the day before yesterday, near 
12 o'clock towards Newark, and that they have not as yet returned." 
[Spark's Washington, book 4, pp. 239, 249.] How this information was 
communicated is not certain. However it is known that a faithful scout by 
the name of Karmel operated in this locality, and such information as here 
recorded may be accredited to him. Sylvanus Cobb Jr. in 1855 made this 
certain Karmel a hero of a novel called "Karmel the Scout," which was sub- 
sequently dramatized and played in New York City. 

On the 30th of December Washington wrote from Trenton to General 
Maxwell, "Collect as large a force as possible at Chatham and after gaining 
the proper intelligence, endeavor to strike a stroke upon Elizabeth Town or 
that neighborhood." [Hatfield's Hist. Elizabeth Town, p. 454.] General 
Maxwell prepared at once to carry out these instructions. The victories at 
Trenton and Princeton followed soon after this, and the British in the 
vicinity of Elizabeth Town were thrown into consternation. General Max- 
well left Chatham, had a brush with the enemy at Springfield, compelled 
them to evacuate Newark, drove them out of Elizabeth Town, and fought 
them at Spank Town (Rahway) a couple of hours. Maxwell held Elizabeth 
Town but the British did not leave the community for the first half of the 



MORRIS COUNTY 13 

year 1777. The whole country was put in a state of excitement. General 
Sullivan kept watch over the movements of the enemy while Maxwell occu- 
pied Elizabeth. "Their troops were continually moving from Chatham 10 
Springfield, or from \\'estfield to Scotch Plains, watching for opportunities 
to cut off the foraging parties, or to pick up the scouts of the enemy. 
Skirmishes, more or less severe, were of almost daily occurrence." [Hat- 
field's Hist. Elizabeth Town, p. 459.] This winter was doubtless for the 
village of Chatham one of the most exciting of the whole war. It was dur- 
ing this season of 1776 and 1777 that Washington was encamped in the 
Lowantica Valley. 

The northern part of the State was filled with Tories, and Morris 
county had its share of them. It was often hard to tell in what direction 
a man's sympathies lay. The entire country throughout this locality was 
filled with renegade disturbers and many were ready to take out "protection 
papers" and espouse the British cause. But with all the Tory spirit which 
permeated the country there were many staunch patriots in sympathy with 
the army at Lowantica and ready to make every effort possible to relieve 
them in their state of privation. Many of the soldiers were housed in the 
homes of patriots. Food and clothing were supplied from various parts of 
the communitv. and during the epidemic of smallpox much heroic service 
was rendered the suffering army. 

Throughout the winter of "76 and '■/•/ an armed sentinel was kept sta- 
tioned on Prospect Hill ready to signal the country far and wide through 
the burning of the tar barrel at night, or the booming of the "Old Sow" by 
day, should the enemy be seen advancing on the Elizabeth Town road 
toward Chatham. It is said that more than once the country was set ablaze 
with patriotic fervor, caused by the signals given from Prospect Hill during 
that winter. The following paragraph by Rev. Joseph F. Tuttle beautifully 
describes the condition of affairs : "There was continual excitement and 
solicitude. The alarm gun was firing, or the beacon light was burning, or 
the sounds of the fife and drum were heard, or companies of soldiers were 
passing and repassing, or the minute men of the vicinity were hurrying back 
and forth, or the commander-in-chief and his suite and life guards were 
going from or returning to headquarters, or some general parade was taking 
place upon the camp ground, or some Tory spies were seen prowling about, 
or some company of the enemy's troops under the conduct of Tory guides 
was committing depredations in various parts of the country, or some other 
thing of similar character was continually occurring to keep those who 
resided here in a state of excitement and fear, and it was no unusual thing 
to see General Washington and his accomplished lady mounted on bay 
horses, and accompanied by their faithful mulatto "Bill" and fifty to sixty 
mounted guards passing through the village with all eyes upon them." [Hist. 
Morris County, N. J., Munsell & Co., 1882, p. 192.") Many lives were lost 
during this winter through the scourge of smallpox and other diseases, and 
the moral standards of the community were broken down by the reckless 
practices of the soldiers. 

Among the men who served their country during this winter of hard- 
ships those from the vicinity of Chatham were: Lieutenant Silas Hand, 
John Miller, Samuel Denman, John Minthorn, Jabez Titchenor, Lieutenant 
Noadiah Wade. Surgeon Peter Smith, Captain Benj. Carter, Lieutenant 
John Roberts. Luke Miller, Josiah Burnet, Jeremiah Carter, Cornelius 
Genung, Captain Thompson of the New Jersey artillery (This Mr. Thomp- 
son had both legs shot off at the battle of Springfield and died urging his 



14 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

soldiers never to give up to the enemy. He is said to have been captain of a 
company of soldiers here in Chatham, which drilled upon the ground, south 
of Main Street and east of Summit Avenue), Captain Eliakim Little of 
the New Jersey artillery (It was his company which by desperate fighting, 
held the enemy at bay for two hours until they were reinforced and the 
enemy routed at Springfield), Samuel Paul, John Bonnel, Robert Pollard 
(This man was shot through the body at Connecticut Farms, and yet sur- 
vived many years after the war was ended), Ephraim Sayre, James Brook- 
field, Second Lieutenant Samuel Day, Ellis Cook, Caleb Horton, Joseph 
Bruen, Benj. Harris, Captain William Day, Benj. Bonnel (He assisted in 
carting the guns which were captured by the Continental troops from a 
British sloop grounded in Elizabeth Town Creek. The guns were taken to 
the armory at Morristown.) Lieutenant Stephen Day, Captain John Howell, 
Colonel Seeley, Gilbert Bonnel, \Vright Reding, Israel Lum (he fought in 
the battle of Monmouth), Samuel Lum, son of Israel, Benj. Robinson, Mat- 
thias Lum, Ed. McDonald, James Richardson, and Philip Lunney. 

With all the heroism that was shown by the men of the country equally 
as great was the heroism shown by the women. They made clothing for 
the soldiers and helped care for the sick and the dead. In many instances 
women harrowed and plowed the fields and threshed the grain. It is said 
that the home of Aaron Ward located on Coleman's Hill, was always kept 
in readiness for General Washington. Whenever the soldiers came to the 
house, Mrs. Ward fed them with the best that could be had; and often the 
whole first floor was given over to them for lodging during the night, while 
the family occupied the rooms up stairs. On one occasion when a child of 
the family had the croup, Mrs. Ward in order to get medicine from the 
clpset down stairs, was obliged to step over the bodies of the sleeping sol- 
diers who were packed in upon the kitchen floor. This is but one illustration 
of the hospitable spirit of the staunch Whigs of the town of Chatham. 

Washington Irving, in his "Life of Washington," makes the following 
mention of the staunch patriotism of the citizens of Morris: "To the honor 
of the Magistrates and people of Jersey, Washington testifies that requisi- 
tions for supplies were punctually complied with. Jos. Tuttle says provi- 
sions came in with hearty good will from the farmers in Mendham, Chat- 
ham, Hanover and other rural places, together with stockings, shoes, coats, 
and blankets ; while the women met together to knit and sew for the 
soldiery." (Life of Washington, vol. iv, p. 5.) The sufifering at Valley 
Forge was scarcely more severe than that of the winter of 'yG-'jy at 
Lowantica. 

In the fall of 'j~ General Sullivan by order of Washington left our 
community en route for Wilmington, Delaware. Chatham was consequently 
somewhat relieved from scenes of warfare until the winter of 1779. How- 
ever the town continued a military station. The Continental Congress on 
March 2, 1778, ordered that horses should be assembled in various parts of 
the state for the use of the army. Under the date of March 5th, 1778, 
advertisements were placed in the newspapers that purchases should be made 
at the following places : by Captain Harrison at Pennington, Colonel Sheldon 
at Chatham, Major Clough at Trenton, and Lieutenant Colonel White at 
Brunswick. [N. J. Gazette, Nos. 178, 180.] These men were the com- 
manding officers at the places mentioned. It is quite evident from this 
notice that even through the period from '76-'79, the crossing of the Passaic 
on the road to Elizabeth Town was sufficiently guarded. 



MORRIS COUNTY 15 

One of the most noteworthy events in the history of Chatham is that 
of the publishing of the New Jersey Journal by Shepard Kollock. Mr. 
Kollock was born at Lewes, Delaware, in September of the year 1750. He 
learned the art of printing in the office of the Pennsylvania Chronicle at 
Philadelphia. During the beginning of the Revolutionary War he entered 
the army and served as first lieutenant with Colonel Neill of the Continental 
artillery. At the close of the campaign in 1778, through the advice of Gen. 
Knox, he began the publishing of his Journal in Chatham. The New Jer- 
sey Journal was a weekly publication and the first number bears the date 
Tuesday, February 16, 1779. [N. J. Journal, vol. i, No. i, N. Y. Hist. 
Soc. Lib., 170 W. Cent. Park, N. Y. Copies were sent by the printer to 
Mr. Gerardus Duyckinck, a druggist in Morristown, at the time. Mr. 
Duyckinck was a regular subscriber, and an advertiser in the Journal.] 
After Tuesday, January 25, 1780, the paper was issued on Wednesday. It 
was a national publication, an ardent supporter of the cause of indepen- 
dence, and the second newspaper printed in the State of New Jerse3^ The 
New Jersey Gazette preceded it. The first issue of the Gazette was published 
at Burlington by Isaac Collins, December 5, 1777. Shepard Kollock"s publi- 
cation was known to the British as the "Rebel Paper." It was rumored that 
Mr. Kollock thought of locating his paper in Elizabeth Town; but the condi- 
tions there were so threatening that he chose Chatham, a town beyond the 
hills "where no British soldiery ever trod." It has been handed down through 
tradition that the first location of his printing office was on the island north 
of Main street in the Passaic river, and that afterwards Mr. Kollock bought 
the old parsonage in which Ebenezer Bradford taught school in Madison. 
This building was removed to Chatham village during the Revolutionary 
War, where Mr. Kollock utilized it as a printing office. [Hist. Madison Pres. 
Church, Rev. Samuel L. Tuttle, p. 31.] It was located on the north side of 
Main street opposite Jacob Morrell's dwelling house, the present home of Mr. 
Fred Tallmadge. The old printing house was burned during the Civil ^\'ar. 
It is possible that at one time the newspaper press of the New Jersey Journal 
was in the end of the old tavern located west of Foster Horton's store. Shep- 
ard KoUock's advertisement in his Journal of April 5, 1780, helps to locate 
his printing office. The notice reads as follows : "The highest price is given 
for clean linen rags by Shepard Kollock in Chatham near the liberty pole." 
This notice is also found under the dates August 2, and December, 1780, 
showing that he lived at this place during the greater part of that year. The 
liberty pole of Revolutionary times stood in front of the tavern kept at that 
time by Timothy Day. Besides printing a paper here Shepard Kollock 
printed books and pamphlets ; and in connection with his printing office he 
had a store in which he sold anything from a pound of tea to farms and 
slaves. The following advertisement is taken from the pages of the New 
Jersey Journal, "To be sold at the printing office at Chatham; Swift's works, 
13 volumes; Spectator, 8 volumes; Clarissa, 8 volumes; Beauties of Prose, 
4 volumes ; Triumvirate, 2 vols ; Collection of poems, 2 vols ; Ogilvies 
Poems; Theoron and Aspasia ; Bradford Abbie; David's Repentance; 
Life of Alexander Pope; History of Greece; Lord Somners on Jurors; 
Testaments, and Spelling Books ; also Cole's Latin Dictionary ; Greek Lexi- 
con ; Kent's Lucien ; Intro, to making Latin, etc." 

Three Chatham imprints are in existence. One is "A Fast Day Sermon" 
delivered by Jacob Green, A. M., at Hanover, New Jersey, April 22, 1778. 
The following line is at the bottom of the pamphlet : "Chatham, printed by 
Shepard Kollock, at his office, 1779." Another imprint is entitled, "Upon 



i6 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

Persons Possessing Iniquities of their Youth in After Life," by Jacob 
Green, printed by Shepard Kollock in Chatham, 1780. Sprague in his annals 
"The American Pulpit" states that Jacob Green published three sermons. 
It is quite probable that Shepard Kollock printed the third which has not 
yet been discovered. The first of these pamphlets is in the possession of 
Rev. Joseph Folson of Newark and the other is owned by William Nelson 
of Paterson. The most considerable Chatham imprint of Shepard Kollock's 
is a small i6mo. voliune of the Psalms of David by Isaac Watts. The 
writer has an original copy of this Chatham imprint. This volume was 
printed in 1783 and contains more than 300 pages. This issue was probably 
published to supply the deficiency of Watts' Hymnals made by Parson Cald- 
well at the battle of Springfield on June 23, 1780. During this battle the 
Rev. Mr. Caldwell, seeing that the soldiers were in need of wadding for their 
muzzle-loading rifles, went to the church and brought forth an armful of 
these Hymnals which he passed out to the soldiers, saying as he presented 
them, "Now put Watts into 'em, boys !" 

A complete list of Shepard Kollock's publications in Chatham, as far 
as it is known, is as follows: 1779, Oct. 12, Poems on Several Occurrences, 
Rev. Wheeler Case: i. A contest between the Eagle and the Crane; 2. A 
Dialogue between Col. Paine and Miss Clorinda Fairchild ; 3. St. Clair's 
Retreat and Burgoyne's Defeat ; 4. The First Chapter of the Lamentations 
of Gen. Burgoyne; 5. The Fall of Burgoyne ; 6. The Vanity of Trusting in 
an Arm of Flesh; 7. The Tragical Death of Miss Jane M'Crea; 8. An 
answer for the Messenger of the Nation. 1779, Verses on the Sixth, 
Seventh and Eighth Chapters of Genesis, Stephen Hand; 1779, Feb. 16 to 
Dec. 3, 1783, New Jersey Journal; 1779, Sept. 7, A Fast Day Sermon, 
Rev. Jacob Green, A. M. ; 1779, July 20, Spelling Book; 1779, U. S. 
Almanac for 1780; 1780, May 24, A Short Introduction to English Gram- 
mar; 1780, Sermon at Newark, Uzal Ogden, Aug. 15, 1779; 1780, Apr. 12, 
A Sermon Designed for Instruction and Warning to Youth of both Sexes, 
From Job 12-26, Rev. Jacob Green, A.M.; 1780, Dec. 6, Sermon on Prac- 
tical Religion, Rev. Uzal Ogden; 1780, United States Almanac for 1781 ; 
1781, Apr. 25, A View of the Christian Church and Church Government, 
by the Associated Presbytery of Morris Co.; 1781, A Sermon on Funeral 
of Elizabeth Hackett, Uzal Ogden; 1781, Nov. 30, United States Almanac 
for 1782; 1782, Dilworth's Spelling Book (?) ; 1782, New England Primer 
( ?) ; 1782, U. S. Almanac for 1783 (An imperfect copy of this almanac is 
in the New York City Library) : 1783, Elogy on Francis Barker, Dr. 
Ebenezer Elmer; 1783. The Covenant Interest of the Children of Believers, 
Rev. Amzi Lewis; 1783. Regeneration. A Sermon, Rev. Mr. Ogden ( ?) ; 
1783, Psalms of David, Isaac Watts. 

The rebel paper, printed in Chatham was of much concern to the 
British. Major Andre, the spy, in his poem entitled "The Cow Chase," 
made the following reference to this Whig publication. Andre pictured the 
parson as viewing "Mad" Anthony Wayne's retreating train after his futile 
attempt to capture the block house on the palisades above W^eehawken. 

"In his dismay, the frantic priest' 
Began to grow prophetic. 
You had swore, to see his lab'ring breast, 
He'd taken an emetic. 

'I view a future day,' said he, 

'Brighter than this daj- dark is. 
And you shall see what you shall see. 
Ha! Ha! one pretty marquis- 



MORRIS COUNTY I7 

And he shall come to Paulus' Hook.s 

And great achievements think on, 
And make a bow and take a look, 

Like Satan over Lincoln.-* 

And all the land around shall glory 

To see the Frenchman caper. 
And pretty Susan^ tell the story 
In the next Chatham paper'.' 
(Patriotic Poems of New Jersey by Wm. C. Armstrong, p. 109.) 

^ u 11 2TQf5vpttp 3 Tersev City. *A figure of the devil on 

article's 'to 'the Journal published at Chatham. 

The New Jersey Journal was printed in Chatham until December 3- 
178/ At this time immediately after the evacuation of New York by he 
K-itish Mr kollock moved to that city and began the publication of the 
^Ne York Gazetteer and the Country Journal." The removal o Kollock 
from Cliaham led a Mr. David Cree to attempt the publishing of a paper 
;^°;;8^^Sti: ^s ..own c^cermn^ Not everi the --^ remembe^ 

£^1 iSc^ndS" wil papef in'SlW^'i^nlswick, New Jersey as 
eariv as July, °784. About April 1785, this publication was ransferred to 
ElSbeth T^wn and was there styled the "New Jersey Journal and Political 
Selligencer" Later on Shepard Kollock was judge in the court of common 
Dleafn "he county of Essex Mr. Kollock died July 28, 1839, >n Elizabeth 
Town a the age of eighty-eight years. He was a brave soldier, a zealous 
natrioi "strenuous advocate of the Republican principles of gov^nmenL 
and dd good services for his country as a soldier and as an editor^ His 
name deferves to be placed among the most noteworthy patriots of the 
Revolutionary times. 

\fter the encampment of Washington at Lowantica in t^e ^v,nter ot 
'-fi -I'nd '77 the scene of warfare was removed to the south. The winter 
of-7 and '78 wasT^ent by Washington with the main army at \ alley Forge. 

^^^r ^ r rT -^ :r^rWasSi:^:is^= ^^ncS-Jfat 
Middle ZlX^Jeriy^tn Z breaking up of -P - ^™e Brook. 

^-—t:ri^t^:t ™Ks^s^:s cSs/^;r; New 

fersev trVl iSphia where he interviewed Marquis de Lafayette who had 
lust arrived ntha? city. After a strenuous campaign in watching the move- 
ments "f the enemy ^in central New Jersey, Washington removed from 
Scotch Plains to M^ristown for winter-quarters. On December 13th a 
large defachment of the army passed through Chatham toward Bottle Hill 
(Mad on) where an encampment was made. It is possible that this de- 
tachnient was in charge of Lafavette, and that at this time the pleasing love 
episode be ween Count D'Anteroche. one of the aids of the Marquis, and 
Po Iv Vanderpoel took place. The story is told that the young count while 
rid c^ th ovSh Chathan!. ,^er the Morris Turnpike m company with_ some 
Amencan officers, encountered near the bridge over the Passaic river a 
pr eSy girl who had just stepped out of her father's house, which was located 
^^ tl,P .lone above the river On looking into the sweet face of Miss Polly 
Vanderpoel ?he young French officer lost his heart. David Vanderpoel 
upon beTng informed 'of his daughter's suitor raged, stormed, and swore 



i8 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

that she should marry, "no d-m Frenchman." The young chevalier 
upon hearing the stand taken by Captain David became heart sick and took 
to his bed. Turning his face to the wall, he said "Let me die ! Let me die !" 
Finally the stern father relented and casting his prejudice aside withdrew 
all hindrance against his daughter's suitor. Their troth was plighted and in 
one of the severest winters on record, on the 30th of January, 1780, the 
twain were made one by good old Dr. Bradford of Bottle Hill. After the 
war Count D'Anteroche and his charming wife removed to Elizabeth Town, 
where they lived for a number of years with some of the Count's com- 
patriots. The hero of this romantic story died some years afterwards while 
on a visit to France. Mrs. Mary Vanderpoel D'Anteroche continued to live 
in Elizabeth Town until her eighty-sixth year. When Lafayette revisited 
this country in 1824, she and her children were greeted by him with the 
affection of a dear relative. 

It was during the severe winter of 1779 and '80 that many of the most 
interesting episodes of the Revolutionary period in Chatham took place. 
It is said that the temperature was so low throughout this winter that New 
York Bay was frozen over to such an extent that the British cavalry could 
pass back and forth into New Jersey at will. Many devastating inroads 
were made in this part of the State. In consequence of this condition of 
affairs it was found necessary to keep the bridge at Chatham constantly 
guarded in order that no British soldier should pass. A company of militia 
under Col. Jacob Miller was for a considerable time the custodian of this 
bridge. Ashbel Green a youth of fifteen years was one of the guards and 
there is record of his having unceremoniously shot down a man who at- 
tempted to pass without giving the necessary countersign. 

During this winter of '79 and '80 an exchange of prisoners was arranged 
for at the bridge in Chatham. General Winds was deputized to officiate for 
the continentals. After the transaction was completed the British field 
officer remarked on parting, "We are going to dine in Morristown some 
day." "If you do," said Winds, "you will sup in h — 1 in the evening." This 
reply was not made through the habit of profanity, but on the contrary 
through the fervid patriotic spirit which pervaded the general. In Mr. 
Piatt's poem, entitled, "Chatham Bridge." this incident is one of a number 
referred to. He also treats of an attempted capture of Washington by the 
British in the winter of '79. As he speaks of it the soldiery which made 
this attempt passed beyond the river and as far as Union Hill. There is 
dispute regarding this statement for in a letter which is herein given. It will 
be found that the storm of the night and the crust on the snow prevented 
the detachment from going any further than XJavid Vanderpoel's house 
which was located east of the river. Furthermore had this company of 
British soldiers gone beyond the bridge, it could not have been said as it so 
often was that the bridge at the river was a "closed gate and secure" through 
which no British ever trod. 

The signal gun, on Prospect Hill, was ever in readiness to fire the alarm 
and the tar barrel blazed forth whenever any movement of the enemy over 
the eastern plain portended harm to the inhabitants of this vicinity. It is 
quite probable that numerous officers were quartered in the village and that 
a detachment of the army was stationed here in the fall of 1779. The oldest 
inhabitants were wont to relate that Washington accompanied with his 
retinue of officers frequently passed through the town, and that on various 
occasions he was accompanied by his distinguished friend, Marquis de 
Lafayette. 



MORRIS COUNTY 19 

During the year 1779 the vicinity of Morris county was overrun with 
spies and banditti of the British soldiers. The following item is indicative 
of the condition of affairs at that time: "Four armed men were seen south 
of Chatham. A posse of men, accompanied by dogs, was sent after them. 
Two were caught and two got away. One of the men caught was George 
Whelps, Esq., from Coshecton, N. Y. It is hoped he will be treated to a 
taste of American hemp." [N. J. Journal, April 11, 1779.] The above men 
proved to be British spies. 

The location of Chatham with its protecting hills made it not only a 
safe retreat for Shepard Kollock, but also a place where patriots unmolested 
could meet and discuss cjuestions of vital interest concerning the nation's 
welfare. The following extracts show with what importance the location 
was considered. 

A general courtmartial of the state of which Col. Neilson is appointed president 
is ordered to set at Chatham on the 27th instant. Col. Frelinghuysen and Van Dyke 
(Lieutenant), Colonels Jacob Crane and Benoni Hathaway, Majors William Davison 
and Joseph Lindley, Captains Peter Latham and Daniel Cook, Gawen McKoy, Stephen 
Monson, Joseph Beech, James Kean are appointed members. Mr. Wilcox is appointed 
to act as judge-advocate of the court by order of His Excellency, Governor Livings- 
ton. April ID, 1780. [N. J. Journal, Vol. 2, Xo. 61, April 12, 1780.] 

The committee of Essex County Associators request the Whig inhabitants of 
Morris County to meet them at the house of Matthias Woodruff in Chatham on 
Tuesday the 24th, this month, precisely at one o'clock, on business of the greatest 
importance. Signed, Vauxhall, .-Vpril 17, 1781. [N. J. Journal, ibid, Xo. 113, April 
18, 1781.] 

This quotation from an old letter is further evidence of how strategic 
a point was the town of Chatham during Washington's encampment at 
Morristown in the winter of '79 and '80. 

Immediately opposite the Presbyterian Church is still standing a frame dwelling 
owned by Mrs. ilary J. Tallmadge in which Washington at various times sought 
shelter and relief from the burdens pressing him. It was the home of Jacob Morrell 
at the time Washington was in Morristown. 

In the winter of 1780 while Washington accompanied by his faithful aide, Alex- 
ander Hamilton, and his two faithful servants, was temporarily quartered in this 
building, the American army being encamped at Morristown, a party of one thousand 
British cavalry left New York w-ith the intention of taking Washington prisoner. 
They came by the way of Elizabethtown. During the night a violent storm of hail, 
snow, and rain set in, forming a thick crust which cut their horses f'-et, and ren- 
dered the road so impassible that when daylight dawned, having journeyed no 
furtlier than the Passaic River, near what is now known as the Vanderpoel residence, 
they deemed it prudent to return. Standing in fear of their guide, an American spy, 
they enclosed him in the center of a hollow square, and then rode with drawn 
swords. 

While Washington was temporarily stopping at the house already alluded to, a 
scout called Karmel, belonging to the American Armj% was on his way from Perth 
.■\mboy with important dispatches to Washington's headquarters then at Morristown. 
When the scout reached Elizabethtown he was overtaken by a blinding snow storm. 
He proceeded on his way, however. Before reaching Chatham the snow had changed 
to hail and rain, which froze as it fell, forming a thick crust. His horse's feet were 
so badly cut by the sharp crust that he was obliged to seek shelter in the dwelling 
which stood on the site now occupied by the residence of Mr. Vanderpoel, and at 
which time was owned and occupied by David Vanderpoel, the great grandfather of 
the present owner. Here the scout learned that Washington had taken refuge from 
the same storm in the house of one of Chatham's patriotic citizens. 

Karmel had not yet retired, although he had been shown to his room, when he 
heard the tramping of a party of horsemen. His suspicion that soemthing was 
wrong, having been aroused, he stole noiselessly out of the house to ascertain the 
cause of the commotion. He was not long in learning that it was a company of 
British soldiers. He readily surmised from the little he heard of their conversation 
that Morristown was their destination and the capture of Washington their mission. 

Had they succeeded in their undertaking, the American Revolution would have 



20 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

been known in history as America's Rebellion, and instead of a Union of forty-five 
slates, we would probably to-day still be provinces of Great Britain. 

However, fate had decreed it otherwise, and Karmel the scout, to whom history 
has scarcely done justice, pushed on that night from Elizabeth Town to Chatham 
through the sleet and snow. He arrived in time to warn Washington who later 
made his escape. [Early files of Chatham Press.] 

During one of the frequent adventures of the British soldiers in this 
locality in the winter of '79 and '80 the following occurrence is said to have 
taken place at Timothy Day's hotel on the eastern side of the Passaic River. 
The story was related to the author by Miss Phebe Potter. Mr. Day's hotel 
was opposite the Vanderpoel estate. The family upon seeing the approach 
of the British soldiers left the hotel and hid behind a stone wall at the rear 
of the house. The redcoats walked lawlessly into the house and ransacked 
it from cellar to attic. After their departure Mr. Day found on his return 
that the spigots of the wine barrels in the cellar had been opened, and 
that the cellar floor was flooded with wine. Not satisfied with this they had 
taken the feather ticks from the beds and had emptied the contents into the 
wine on the cellar floor making a gruesome concoction of feathers and wine. 
At this hotel, Jacob Morrell's dwelling house, and at the homes of Stephen 
Day and Aaron Ward, Washington is reported to have been a frequent 
visitor. 

On January 30, 1780, Chatham witnessed preparations for a most dar- 
ing enterprise. It was Lord Sterling's hazardous attempt to attack the 
enemy at Staten Island. The detachment left the town with great aspira- 
tions, but returned much chagrined. 

In the spring of 1780, Maxwell's brigade was stationed at Chatham. 
Following the severe winter there was a very late spring, even on May the 
i8th the grass was not yet green. Knyphausen was in command of the 
British force in New York and planned to invade New Jersey and expel 
from its confines the patriotic army. Consequently in the early part of June, 
he crossed to Staten Island and thence to Elizabeth Town. These move- 
ments of the British electrified the community of Chatham with military 
excitement and put Maxwell's troops in readiness for an encounter. It was 
reported that they were on their way to Morristown to capture the main 
depot of the army's supplies and to drive the rebels out of "the Jersies." As 
soon as the force of the enemy, in order and splendid array, left Elizabeth 
Town on the Turnpike Road towards Springfield, word was quickly passed 
along to Prospect Hill where the eighteen-pound signal gun, the "Old Sow," 
and the tar barrel were fired. Patriotic citizens of the whole country round 
flew to arms. The army drums at Morristown beat the soldiers in line and 
under the command of Washington troops marched down to Bonnel Town 
near Chatham to check the on-coming enemy beyond Short Hills. The 
militia of the surrounding country joined the main army on its way to the 
field of action. At Coimecticut Farms the onset was checked by the forces 
of General Maxwell and Colonel Dayton, and the splendid army which 
marched out from Elizabeth Town went back to Staten Island more or less 
demoralized. 

It was at the battle of Connecticut Farms where Mrs. James Caldwell, 
formerly Miss Hannah Ogden, was barbarously shot by a British mercenary. 
[Hatfield's Hist. Elizabeth Town, p. 488.] Mrs. Caldwell was a sister of 
Mrs. Stephen Day of Chatham, who lived on the northwest corner of Main 
and Elmwood Avenue. After the nnirder of his wife. Parson Caldwell 
moved with his children to Chatham to live with Mrs. Day. From this 
time until the end of the war. Parson Caldwell kept an ammunition store 



MORRIS COUNTY 21 

in Chatham near Shepard Kollock's printing office. He was later murdered 
at EHzabeth Town by a man named Morgan, one of the rebel sentmels. 
The following incident shows how the Parson was regarded by the patriots 
of Chatham Mr. Tuttle narrates that at one time when the Rev. Mr. 
Caldwell was about to preach in the open air in Chatham, an o d soldier 
crowded to the front and cried out, before there was time to bmld a plat- 
form "Let me have the honor of being his platform! Let him stand on 
my body! Nothing is too good for Parson Caldwell. 

After the battle of Springfield, General Washington on his return o 
Morristown sent word ahead to Mrs. Stephen Day that he would stop off to 
see her on his way through Chatham. Accordingly Mrs Day dressed her- 
self in a fine black silk gown with a large white scarf about her neck and 
awaited the coming of her distinguished visitor. A small mahogany table 
was placed on the lawn in front of the house, and a p easing repast was 
prepared for the General. The call was made and heartfelt words of sym- 
pathy were extended to Mrs. Day in behalf of the horrible murder of her 
sister at Connecticut Farms. Much appreciation was shown by the Genera 
for her hospitality and often afterwards it is said that Washington called at 
the Dav Mansion. Captain Stephen Day, the husband of Mrs._ Jeremiah 
O-den^Day was one of the staunchest patriots. He was justice of the 
neace under both the British and Continental rule, served m the army, and 
was one of the first to aid the Continentals when requisitions for supplies 
were made. It is said that he gave a whole beef when the first call was 

^^^"Vhe British were not vanquished by the repulse at Connecticut Farms, 
and on the 23rd of June, 1780. early in the morning they left camp at Eliza- 
beth Point and set out, five thousand strong under Knyphausen, in the 
direction of Short Hills. Again the old eighteen pounder and the tar barrel 
on Prospect Hill gave signals of the approach of the enemy. The mi itia 
was hastily collected from every quarter to guard the pass over the hill. 
A fierce encounter took place in Springfield at the end of which the Con- 
tinentals came off victorious. Parson Caldwell was very active m this en- 
eaeement It was here that he supplied the soldiers with psalm books out 
of which to make wads. Although the enemy was finally driven back to 
Elizabeth Town, it was not done until great damage was committed in the 
town It is said that all the houses were burned excepting four, jhe 
Americans under General Green lost thirteen killed, forty-nine wounded. 
First Lieutenant Thompson of the New Jersey artillery was one of the slain. 
The loss of the enemy is not recorded but it was doubtless much greater 
than that of the Americans. With this victory, ended all possibilities of 
the British ever passing beyond the Watchung Mountains. ^ 

When the news came that the British were advancing towards Spring- 
field there was great consternation in Chatham. The possibility of their 
defeating the Americans, threatened an invasion. of the country beyond the 
mountains, and in order to safe guard themselves, the greater part of the 
inhabitants packed their goods in readiness to flee, and in excitemen 
awaited the outcome of the battle. There was great relief when Mr. Ball 
on horseback came over the hill with the news that the enemy had been 

driven back. , , , , /-1 ^i a 

The soldiers wounded at Springfield were brought to Chatham and 
cared for in Timothy Day's Tavern, which became a veritable hospital. 
Parson Caldwell and'many heroic women joined in relieving the suttermg 
soldiers housed within the town at this time. 



22 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

Colonel Barber's detachment fell back to Chatham for a short period 
and then set out for Elizabeth Town. Washington at this time lay in the 
vicinity of Rockaway ready to reinforce his troops if necessary. Through- 
out the winter of 1780 and '81, the Pennsylvania troops of Mad Anthony 
Wayne were stationed at Morristown. It was during this winter of 
hardship caused by the lack of money in circulation and the wholesale 
counterfeiting by the tories of the community, that the soldiers under 
General \\'ayne mutinied and marched to the Continental Congress at 
Princeton. Much heroism was shown by the patriots of this vicinity in 
their attempt to relieve the distressed army at Slorristown. The story of 
Rhoda Farrand's driving around and collecting clothing for the soldiers is 
illustrative of the loyal spirit ardently aglow in the breast of each patriot. 
The success of the Pennsylvania regiments in obtaining redress of their 
grievances, prompted the New Jersey troops at Pompton to attempt the 
same performance. On the night of the 20th of January, 1781, a brigade of 
one hundred sixty men from Pompton marched to Chatham and urged the 
troops stationed there to join them in their revolt. General Washington on 
hearing of their plans immediately dispatched under General Howe a de- 
tachment to arrest the movement and to punish the leaders. Howe arrived 
in the village on the morning of the 21st and surrounded the mutineers 
encamped in front of Timothy Day's Tavern. Colonel Barber commanded 
them to parade without arms to designated grounds. The revolters hesi- 
tated to obey and Colonel Sprout was ordered to advance with his regiment 
and give them five minutes to comply with the command. Under the threat 
of bayonets and leveled muskets they instantly complied with the order. 
Three of the leaders were tried and executed on the spot. This was prob- 
ably the most exciting military maneuver of the war in the immediate con- 
fines of Chatham. [Hist, of New Jersey, Sypher and Apgar, p. 175, Memoir 
of Major Shaw, by Hon. Josiah Quincy, p. 89.] 

Soon after the victory at Springfield the scene of action shifted to the 
south. On the 23d of August, 1781, the French army crossed the Hudson 
and proceeded on its march to Chatham where for more than ten days 
artificers were building ovens and forming an encampment on the east side 
of the Passaic in order to deceive Sir Henry Clinton then holding New 
York. [Diary of American Revolution, Frank IMoore, p. 466.] Washing- 
ton had decided to close up the war by couping Cornwallis with the main 
British army in Yorktown, \'irginia. In accordance with this idea he had 
ordered the French regiments and the New Jersey brigades to move south- 
ward to Virginia, and in order to mislead Clinton, these pretences of estab- 
lishing permanent quarters at Chatham were made. On the arrival of the 
French army at Chatham Dayton's brigade was found stationed at this 
place. The French division, uniformed in black, with red trimmings, made 
a most striking spectacle. The Royal Deux-Ponts were decked in white 
broadcloth coats faced with green, and the heavy artillery men in blue with 
white facings. The French grenadiers who were acknowledged as the elite 
of the corps marched at the head of each battalion, wearing buckskin hats 
and distinctive uniforms. No grander spectacle of military parade has ever 
been presented to the people of Chatham before or since. The allied armies 
of the French and the Americans marched by different routes in four 
divisions across the state towards Trenton on their way to Philadelphia. 
The right column of the Continentals, composed of Hazen's regiment, the 
corps of sappers and miners, the artillery stores, the baggage, and the thirty 
flatboats on carriages passed on the 28th through Chatham on its way to 



MORRIS COUNTY • 23 

Bound Brook. The left column under Major General Lincoln separated 
from the right at Chatham and joined the left at Trenton on the 31st, 
having marched by way of New Brunswick to Princeton. It can readily 
be imagined, on the arrival in Chatham of the right and left Continentals 
driving great herds of cattle before them, with many covered wagons 
carrying the baggage and tents, and the troops of soldiers permeated 
with the spirit of victory, that an unusual spectacle was presented to 
the patriots of this vicinity. Those too sick or lame to march were 
permitted to ride. It is said that the women contingent to this military 
procession, were of considerable annoyance since they were not amenable 
to military discipline. The following order was issued in consequence 
of their behavior: ■'Prior to the commencement of our march this 
morning the commanding officers will inform the women of their re- 
spective corps that the General saw many of them yesterday from their 
proper line of march, strolling in gardens and orchards, an irregularity 
which must not be repeated. Should' any attempt it hereafter they will be 
denied their rations and prevented farther from following the army." 
[Story of an Old Farm. A. D. Mellick, p. 536.] 

Both the French and Continental troops, which came down from the 
north with all their artillery and baggage wagons, encamped immediately in 
front of Day's Tavern, east of the road leading southward to Turkey. 
Many of the soldiers were quartered in the homes of the community. The 
Bonnel house on W'atchung avenue, in Stanley, was filled to its utmost 
capacity. Mrs. Bonnel was not content with giving them shelter alone ; but 
all the night long by the stepping back and forth over the soldiers sleeping on 
her kitchen floor she baked bread that the needy army might be better fed 
on their long march to the south. What a beautiful exhibition of patriotism 
this was ! On a certain evening the camp looked as usual ; fires were lighted, 
sentries were set. and all the soldiers numbering at least 6,000 were appar- 
ently ready for the night. On the following morning, both as a surprise to 
the local inhabitants and to the British spies who were lurking in the com- 
munity, there was nothing left on the site of the encamping army excepting 
wooden sheds and the ovens which the soldiers had built. The two divisions 
marched in separate directions as heretofore stated. This gorgeous exhibi- 
tion of military pomp was a fitting close to the Revolutionary excitement of 
the tmmolested country, lying to the west beyond the hills. 

As the winter of 1782 drew to a close the sounds of war died out with 
only occasional reminders by the way of news through some express rider 
who broughts accounts of the closing events, or groups of soldiers return- 
ing home honorably discharged from service. For some years after the war, 
the log cabins used during the winter of 1776 and '"JJ, were to be seen at 
Lowantica ; and the old pretentious sheds and ovens opposite Day's Tavern 
were ostentatious reminders of the long and dreadful conflict. The ovens 
were thoughtlessly torn down in 1835. 

A few troops, some officers, and prisoners of war were quartered in 
Chatham up to the time of the signing of the Treaty of Paris. It 
would not be fitting to close the Chatham account of the Revolution- 
ary struggle without making mention of the ill-fated Capt. Asgill who 
was for a time immediately following the war imprisoned in the town. 
Captain Josiah Huddy was an active patriot of Monmouth county, and 
through his vigilant action in suppressing the Tory insurrections he became 
a marked man by the treacherous refugees. In the spring of 1782. Huddy 
was captured at Tom's River and transported to New York. He was 



24 



HISTORY OF CHATHAM 



charged with the killing of a man by the name of White, and was barbar- 
ously hanged under the command of Captain Lippincott at Gravelly Point, 
Staten Island. This inhuman murder filled the country with indignation. 
It was insisted that the British commander should deliver up Lippincott or 
otherwise some English officer in the hands of the Continentals should 
die instead. Steps were taken to carry out this threat by selecting eight 
Captains and five Lieutenants, on parole in Pennsylvania, from among 
whom one man, to be fated by lot, was to pay the penalty. The die was 
cast in Lancaster, Pa. at the Black Bear Tavern, and the unfortunate lot 
fell to Captain Asgill of the foot guards the youngest officer present. 
The ill-fated officer was escorted by Major Gordon to the Jersey line. At 
Chatham, the place assigned for his execution, he was put in the charge of 
Colonel Elias Dayton of the second New Jersey regiment. Washington 
wrote to Colonel Dayton on the .^th of June, 1781, as follows: "Treat Cap- 
tain Asgill with every tenderness and association, and politeness consistent 
with his present situation which his rank, fortune, and connections, together 
with his private state, demands !" A few days later Washington wrote the 
following: "Sir, I am informed that Captain Asgill is at Chatham without 
a guard, and under no restraint. This, if true, is certainly wrong; I wish to 
have the young gentleman treated with all possible tenderness consistent 
with his present situation, but considered as a close prisoner and kept in the 
greatest security. I request, therefore, that he may be sent immediately to 
the Jersey Line where he is to be kept close prisoner in perfect security till 
further orders." [Story of an Old Farm, A. D. Mellick, p. 545.] Ulti- 
mately Sir Guy Carlton succeeded in satisfying the colonial government 
that the execution of Huddy was not without good reason. Meanwhile 
Congress was besieged with communications for the release of Asgill. This 
together with the prospect of peace impelled Congress finally to grant to 
Asgill a reprieve. On the 7th of November, Colonel Dayton at Morristown 
gave his prisoner unconditional liberty. 

The part played by Chatham in the struggle for freedom was no small 
one. Not only was the place a strategic point while Washington was en- 
camped during the two trying winters at Morristown, but it also sent its full 
quota of men to the firing line and furnished a large amount of supplies for 
the needy army. Some fitting memorial should be erected in honor of the 
service rendered by this community during those threatening days of the 
Revolution. In closing this part of the history of Chatham it is quite ap- 
propriate to insert a eulogy written by the poet, Charles D. Piatt, of this 
county : 

CH.-\THAM BRIDGE. 

Not far to seek is Chatham Bridge 

-As on the highway you may ride 
From Morristown along the ridge 

To Madison ; here let us bide 
.A. moment — list I the ghostly tramp 
Of troops who once came here to camp. 

Then on we ride through Chatham, till 

The Chatham Bridge at last we reach ; 
Here as we rest let memory fill 

The mind with what this spot can teach ; 
Here let us think of the days of old 
."^nd tales that of those times are told. 



MORRIS COUNTY 

Hither came all who sought to cross 
Passaic's stream and onward fare; 

Here guards were set, for it were loss 
If o'er this bridge the foe should dare 

To pass and raid the land or make 

Some prisoner — all was here at stake. 

A company was ordered here 

By good Benoni Hathaway 
Of Morristown ; it doth appear 

In pension lists of that far day, 
That they were led, that company. 
By Timothy Tuttle of Whippany. 

And here on guard stood Ashbel Green 

A little time as sentinel, 
When but a youth ; his age, I ween. 

Was fifteen years, yet he guarded well 
This Chatham Bridge and made arrest 
Of one whose case was none the best. 

And here it was that General Winds 

Met a British officer afield: 
Here those two warriors spoke their minds 

And the Briton thought it best to yield ; 
So Winds escorted him on his way 
As he retreated home that day. 

These are but trifling tales, in sooth, 
.•\nd yet they point to matters fraught 

With destiny, this is but truth. 
As you shall quickly now be taught; 

'Tis in the annals of our State 

With other matters small and great. 

i779-'8o. 

On Kemble hill our army lay 
And Washington his quarters had 

In Morristown and made his stay 
At Colonel Ford.'s, as I might add ; 

When forth there rode a daring force, 

A squadron of the British horse. 

From Staten Island on they came 

,^nd in the night they took their way; 

They passed the sentinels, the same 

That at Short Hills were set to stay ■ 
Marauding bands, o'er Chatham Bridge 

They crossed, and started up the ridge 

To Bottle Hill; but snow and hail 

Had clogged their speed through all the night; 
They saw their plan would surely fail 

And back they turned in sorry plight; 
For their steeds were lamed by icy crust 
That cut their feet — retreat they must. 

Their guide, he was I know not who. 

But that he was an American; 
And, fearing he would not be true 

Unto their cause, they set the man 
Within a hollow square, and so, 
Swords drawn, in haste they homeward go. 



26 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

Back to the point they safely rode 
To which they had crossed when they set out 

From Staten Island, their abode. 

'Twas known then what they were about, 

And moved was all the country side 

On hearing of that midnight ride. 

For had their errand met success. 

What it had wrought, no man can say; 
Our cause had been one man the less; 

One man the less, mean what that may ; 
Ah ! Had they stolen our Washington, 
Our cause, God wot, had been undone.* 

*Ballads of New Jersey in the Revolution, Chas. D. Piatt, p. 141. 

[Other residents besides those mentioned on map entitled Revolutionary- 
Era, were William Darling, Thomas Randall, Mathias Woodruff, Joseph 
Grummon, Samuel Ailing, Elihu Linley, Jacob Hallet (had store 1779). ] 

The War of 1812 — The community of Chatham was ever characterized 
by its military spirit. Not only was this shown in Revolutionary and Civil 
War tiines but also in the War of 1812. Captain Abraham Brittin who 
lived at Union Hill, and was allied with the spirit of the town was one of 
the leaders in military affairs. After the Revolution he was captain of a 
group of soldiers known as the fusiliers of Chatham. This company with 
Captain Brittin at the head went to the front during the war and was in 
active service from September i, 1814, until December 3 of the same year. 

I'isit from Lafayette — The year 1824 is a memorable one in the history 
of Chathain. Forty-one years had passed since the dreadful Revolutionary 
conflict had ended. It was at this time that a noted warrior of the Revolu- 
tion now an aged man came to visit the scenes of warfare between Great 
Britain and her transatlantic colony. Again he passed over the road from 
Elizabeth Town to Chatham where his aide and distant relative. Count 
D'Anteroche, won the love of Polly Vanderpoel. 

Elaborate preparations were made for the great general. The stars aim 
stripes were flung from every home, and veterans of the war stood with 
uncovered heads when the revered Marquis D'Lafayette passed by. In the 
house where Mrs. Hamblen now lives, on the northeast corner of ]\Iain and 
Elmwood Ave. the Marquis was entertained. The main reception was held m 
Madison. A great number of the young girls of the town of Chatham, 
dressed in their prettiest costumes, took part in the formal exercises of the 
reception. No greater honor and heartfelt gratitude was ever given to any 
foreign visitor than that extended to the aged Lafayette 

Churches — The Rev. David Brainard, of the school of Jonathan Ed- 
wards, was the first missionary to the Indians in New Jersey. His evan- 
gelistic work extended throughout the State, and was exercised not only 
toward the Indians but also toward the white settlers. In his journal he 
relates traveling froin Crosweeksung, at the forks of the Delaware, to 
Elizabethtown. This journey, which was made in 1746. led him over the 
old Minisink trail which passed through Chatham. He further states that 
he stopped at Connecticut Farms and preached. While there is no state- 
ment to the effect that he visited the church at Hanover yet we are led to 
infer that he did not pass it without a visitation. [Life of Brainard, by 
Jonathan Edwards, pp. 254, 273.] 

The early settlers of the upper Passaic were Scotch Presbyterians and 




Chatliam in Revolutionary Era. showing older part east of river. 
Drawn by James M. Littlejohn. 



MORRIS COUNTY 27 

attended religious services at Whippany where a Presbyterian church was 
built in 1718. [History of Presbyterian Church at Madison, p. 10.] In 
1748 a church was built in South Hanover, Hanover Neck, which the mem- 
bers of the Whippany church in this part of the township of Hanover 
attended. The Presbyterian church at Bottle Hill, Madison, was built in 
1765, and was largely composed of patrons from the town of Chatham. 

The Methodists of this vicinity previous to 1800 were related to the 
church at Turkey, New Providence, until a union meeting house was built in 
the year 1808, for the accommodation of both Methodists and Presbyterians. 
This building stood north of Main Street and west of the bridge near Gen- 
eral Mahlon Minton's store. This first church in Chatham was a two story 
building without bell or cupola, and had galleries on three sides of its walls. 
These were used only when the congregations were unusually large, which 
happened invariably on the occasion of a funeral. 

There were no stoves in this church until the year 1820. Previous to 
this date each worshipper either brought a foot warmer with him or suffered 
from the cold. The only lights used were candles, and those who attended 
church went on foot, horseback or in a springless wagon. Beside the min- 
ister in the elevated pulpit there regularly stood at his right the chorister 
whose business it was to set the pitch with his tuning fork and lead the 
singing. 

The Presbyterians of the town were organized as the Chatham Village 
Church in 1823. There were thirty-eight members at this time. The first 
pastor of the congregation was Rev. Asa Lyman. The upstairs rooms in the 
old academy were used for Sunday school and prayer meeting in conse- 
quence of the two congregations using the regular union meeting house. 
In 1828 Rev. Joseph Meeker Ogden was called as the second pastor, and 
served the people of his church in a most meritorious pastorate until the 
year 1873. Mr. Ogden was graduated from Princeton College in the class 
of 1823. He was a scholar of high standing both in Greek and Hebrew and 
for many years was the examiner in these subjects in the theological school 
of his Alma Mater. The Rev. Mr. Ogden was well known among the 
church authorities and had an exalted reputation as a preacher of the gospel. 

The members of both the Presbyterian and Methodist congregations who 
used the union church found it very hard to work in harmony. Consider- 
able feeling eventually arose between the two organizations and the most 
bitter hatred was finally exercised in what was known as the "Battle of the 
Churches" in ancient Chatham. The quarrel between the Presbyterians who 
wanted to withdraw and build a new church, and the Methodists who cared 
not to permit this procedure became so heated that the members of the 
Presbyterian faction ultimately under the cover of nightfall, in the year 
1830, hitched oxen to the corner of the church and pulled it down. The 
poem herewith presented was written at the time and fully describes the 
event although throughout a biased opinion is rather evident. This poem, 
the literary critic will observe, is not without considerable merit. 

A MODERN. OR SECOND MOXTPELIER. 

Montpelicr in miniature arrayed, 

Or papacy as modernly displayed : 

Montpelier a noted town in France, 

Rose to a city, 'twas by art or chance. 

'Twas at Montpelier a church once stood. 

Devoted by the Huguenots to God : 

'Twas here the Huguenots with cries and tears 



28 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

Sent forth to heaven their fervent, humble prayers; 

But ah ! how soon deprived of this retreat, 

To pay their homage at their Saviour's feet; 

Louis the fourteenth, tyrant of his age. 

Commands, and !o ! they pull it down in rage ; 

Poor Huguenots, they pile the sacred stones 

In memory of their pious fathers' bones. 

Their warm attachment and regard they prove 

By this last token of paternal love. 

But lo ! we turn from ancient 'peliers down 

To one of recent date and one of home. 

I've lived to see said 'peliers rise of late, 

And lived to see said 'peliers mournful fate. 

In Morris County, near Passaic's flood, 

In Chatham town, a Chapel long has stood, 

Built by the Methodists in days of yore, 

And stood the test near forty years or more. 

Yet built for all denominations free, 

On principles of pure philanthropy; 

Near thirty years the house was occupied 

By Methodists more than all sects beside; 

But right was not denied, to sect or name, 

Till Presbyterians usurped their claim. 

Perhaps they think as Irish rebels thought, 

None should, but their divinity be taught — 

And they, in eighteen hundred thirty-two, 

Commenc'd a Chapel of their own, 'tis true, 

When rear'd and covered, and adorned with paint, 

In imitation of a half washed saint; 

They held a party caucus in the town. 

And there agreed to pull Montpelier down ; 

A host of men, deliberately led 

By men in trust, and deacons at their head, 

Proceed in purpose firm, without a jar. 

With one intent, pull down the house of prayer; 

Took out the windows, and unhinged the doors, 

Knocked off the boards and then took up the floors; 

Took off the roof and then the frame took down, 

And laid poor 'pelier level to the ground. 

Then bore their booty from the spot away, 

As heroes do the trophies of their prey; 

The shatler'd fragments advertise for sale, 

And I suppose will pocket the avail — 

I called to mind the faithful Hittites' lamb, 

And cried, oh if I am bereaved I am. 

But here I rest — the bigotry or spite. 

Leaves men to judge, if wrong w'as ever right — 

May generations yet. unborn and free. 

Proclaim the deed to late posterity. 

May Gospel, Christian herald, public news. 

The tidings, o'er this continent diffuse; 

May packet ships convey the news to France, 

That 'peliers sons may at tidings glance; 

May England hear, and all her subjects see 

The blest effects of free born liberty — 

And may the archives of a free born seed. 

In faithfulness record the noble deed 

May a new era in our history rise. 

To be observed. — till time and nature dies. 

May travelers of every cast and lot 

While passing by. point out the sacred spot. 

And call to mind, 'twas here ! 'twas surely here 

The Methodists once owned a house of prayer. 

But Presbyterians in the warmth of zeal. 

With their adherents marching at their heel 

Pull'd down the house of prayer. 



MORRIS COUNTY 29 

These facts are true. 

As here presented to the piibHc view. 

Chatham, Morris County, New Jersey, September 3, 1832. 

After the wave of spirited feeling had subsided in the year 1832, the 
Presbyterians built on the site of the razed structure a church edifice in 
which building the Rev. J. M. Ogden wa.s the first pastor. (See Addenda, 
p. 51.) Following is a list of the ministers who succeeded Dr. Ogden: 
Rev. A. V. C. Johnson, Rev. W. F. Anderson, Rev. J. B. Beaumont, Rev. 
Dr. E. P. Gardiner, Rev. Dr. John iMacnaughtan. 

The first reference to Methodism in the territory is found in the quo- 
tation which follows: "1786 Rev. Ezekiel Cooper made a visit of two 
weeks to New Jersey." [Light on Early Methodism, p. 43.] Mr. Cooper 
preached in Chatham during this visit at a Mr. Clark's and Colonel Crane's. 
[History of Chatham Methodism, Rev. Wm. J. Hampton, p. 8.] It is said 
that the Presbyterians doubted the authority of the Rev. Mr. Cooper to 
preach and demanded by what right he undertook so divine a calling. He 
was about to be arrested but the procedure was obviated through his identi- 
fication with the Elizabeth Town circuit. Quarterly meetings were held in 
Chatham as early as January 16 and 17, 1802. However Father John Han- 
cock of Springfield writes February 23, 1849, that a church was built in 
Chatham at an early period prior to 1807 where for many years up to about 
1830, regular services were held by circuit preachers. This same Father 
Hancock at one time conducted services in Chatham. Mr. Tuttle relates in 
the history of the old classical academy of Bottle Hill, in which Rev. Mr. 
Bradford taught school, that the first Methodist Episcopal services held in 
Chatharn Township were conducted in this building. It will be recalled that 
it was in this house after it was removed from Madison to Chatham that 
Shepard Kollock printed the New Jersey Journal. It was after his aban- 
donment that it was used as a church. This tradition was handed 
down to Mr. Tuttle by Mr. Enos Bonnel of Chatham. Brainard Dickin- 
son, Matthias Swaim, and Isaac Searles were the staunch supporters of this 
early Methodist organization. The last one mentioned is referred to in the 
Christian Advocate as having been the founder of Chatham Methodism. 

After the destruction of the union church a house of worship was 
built by the Methodists on the southeast corner of Main and Summit 
avenue. \\'illiam H. Dickerson was the first regular pastor of the congre- 
gation in 1852. Previous to this date the church in Chatham was an adjunct 
to the Madison circuit. The building on Summit avenue was used until the 
year 1896. when it was pronounced unsafe and the congregation removed to 
Kelley's Hall for the next two years. During this time a beautiful building 
was being constructed on Center street, to which many Presbyterians whose 
ancestors many years before had spitefully opposed and fought the promul- 
gation of_ the^ Methodist doctrine, contributed liberally. Happily all the 
fervid anitnosity of former times has disappeared and both congregations 
are now observed working harmoniously to the one end of Christian uplift. 
The brick industry which was begun about the year 1830 later attracted 
a great many Irish Catholics to Chatham. In 1870 it was apparent to the 
Right Rev. William M. Wigger that there was need of a Catholic mission in 
the town. Through the advice of Mr. John McCormack, property was pur- 
chased of Mr. Paul Lum for a school." This location was later exchanged 
for a plot of land then belonging to Mr. John Doran, which was nearer the 
centre of population. A school was erected in 1872 at a cost of $4000, and 



30 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

was used for the two-fold purpose of mission and school. Since a number 
of parishoners worked in the near-by brickyard, sutificient bricks were con- 
tributed for the construction of the building. For a time the "fog" in Chat- 
ham was a damper on the courage of the Bishop to establish a church along 
the Passaic. However, the difficulty was overcome in 1887, and a church 
was founded by Bishop W'igger, on the corner of Washington avenue and 
Oliver street. Rev. Muhl was the first acting priest of the parish. Follow- 
ing him came successively Father McGahan, Rev. Joseph C. Dunn, Rev. 
William T. McLaughlin, Rev. James M. McCormack, Rev. Samuel Hedges 
and Father Keyes. At the present time the church is under the leadership 
of Rev. P. A. Maher. 

In consequence of a flourishing paper manufactory in Stanley, Mr. 
George Shepard Page organized a Sunday school for his employees in the 
year 1867. Services were held in an upstairs room opposite the old paper 
mill on the River Road. This group of worshippers grew until a building 
was erected and named Stanley Hall, in honor of Mr. Page's mother, which 
building is the present Vapo-Cresolene factory. In the year 1873 the Con- 
gregational Church of Stanley was organized, and Stanley Chapel was built 
in 1881 on the corner of Hillside and Watchung Avenues. Messrs Abram 
French and John Munn were active in this movement. The first pastor of 
the church was Rev. F. S. Palmer, who served in this capacity from the 
year 'J2) to '75. In 1902 a handsome gray stone edifice was built by the 
Congregationalists on the corner of Fairmount avenue and Oliver street. A 
flourishing organization of about two hundred members now supports this 
church under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Charles E. Hesselgrave. 

The beginning of the Episcopal church in Chatham was in the parlor 
of Mr. John Gould, on Elmwood avenue. A Rev. Mr. Lylburn was the 
first rector, from 1897 to '98. Mr. Gould at his death gave a plot of ground 
adjoining his property on which to build a chapel. Funds were not available 
for some years following and in 1902, when the Presbyterians decided to 
build a new church, the chapel on Main street, east of the Fairview Hotel, 
was purchased; and the Presbyterians bought the lot which lay near the 
corner of Main and Elmwood avenue, where the present Presbyterian 
church stands. The Rev. J. \\'. \'an Ingen, of Milburn, is the officiating 
pastor. 

For a number of years there were no cemeteries in juxtaposition to the 
churches of the town. The Methodists buried in Turkey (New Providence) 
and the Presbyterians in Bottle Hill (Madison). The first graveyards of 
Chatham were in connection with the Methodist and Presbyterian churches 
and were located near these places of worship — the Methodist on the 
corner of Main and Summit, and the Presbyterian north of Main street 
and west of the river. These continued until the year 1859, when Fair- 
mount Avenue Cemetery was incorporated. The east side of Long Hill 
was selected as the site, and the bodies in the old cemeteries were disinterred 
and placed in this new burying ground. A small family burial plot was at 
one time located on the present clubhouse grounds. This was used by 
the Days and later by the Browns. The bodies buried in this plot were 
also disinterred and placed in the Fairmount Cemetery. 

The Public Schools — It is reported that from the earliest time the 
people of Chatham and Morris County gave special attention to the educa- 
tion of their children. After a long research it has been quite impossible to 
find where within the present borough limits the earliest building for the use 
of school purposes was located. In the history of every town a brief account 



MORRIS COUNTY 3^ 

of the old log schoolhouse is invariably presented. Such account concerning 
Chatham cannot be given for no one knows of the existence of an origmal 
log structure. The first school house might have been located across the 
river near Timothy Day's hotel, since that was the centre of the town pre- 
vious to 1800. Shepard Kollock entered the following advertisements in his 
Journal under each of the dates, May 10, 1780, and January 3. 1781. •A 
schoolmaster that can be well recommended may find employment by apply- 
ing to the printer hereof." There is also reason to infer that the original 
building was located on the exact site of the old Academy. This may explain 
why no trace of the first school of the town can be found. The first 
reference regarding a school in this vicinity reads as follows : "Joel Jones 
came from Massachusetts about the year 1787. He kept school on Long 
Hill." [Littell's Genealogy, p. 196.] The school here referred to might 
have been one located on the site of the present red schoolhouse. 

The first schoolhouse within the limits of the borough of which any 
definite record exists was that known as the "Old Academy." This build- 
ing was located on the north side of Main Street on the present site of the 
Episcopal Chapel. This structure was erected about the year 1800 and was 
used until 1873. It contained two stories. On the first floor the common 
public school was held, and part of the time the upstairs room was used for 
Sunday School purposes. Eventually the school was divided into two parts ; 
one, a select school in which the pupils paid for their tuition, and the other, 
a common free public school. This was one of the many academies estab- 
lished throughout the state in the early part of the nineteenth century 
through the solicitation of Yankee schoolmasters who came down from New 
England and sought patronage from the parents in various vicinities. These 
teachers "boarded around" and charged a certain amount for the tuition of 
each pupil in addition to their board and lodging which was furnished by 
the patrons. The bell of this academy is at the present time on the colored 
meeting house in Madison and bears the date 1806. Herein is a clue respect- 
ing the time when the building was erected. 

The names of many of the teachers of this academy have been lost. 
However, among some old papers found in the possession of Mr. Washing- 
ton Bond were discovered receipts given to Thomas Bond who was a trustee 
of the academy in the early part of the century ; and from these the follow- 
ing names have been assembled: Under the date February 26, 1803, N. C. 
Everett was the teacher; March 24, 1804, Anthony Cameron; March 28, 
1836, Thomas M. Dooley ; October 26. 1840, Mary M. Walker; 1846. John 
O. Day, George H. Cook; 1855 ( ?). Richard Robinson, Lewis Case Carpen- 
ter, Dr. Forgus, Mr. Howard,' Mr. Morey, Mr. Fox, Benjamin Felch, Hugh 
Cox, Mr. Henderson; June 23, i86s, VVilliam F. Morrow. Jessie Cutler, 
Thomas H. Briggs: i868-"70, W. C. Sandy. Thomas T. Collard. The fol- 
lowing receipt is typical of the evidence from which a number of these 
names were taken : 

Chatham, March 24th, 1804. 
Mr. Thomas Bond, 

To ANTHONY CAMERON, Dr. 

Jan. 15, 1804 — To teaching your son Maxfield, Latin, 40 days at 4d. per 

day £0 135. 4a. 

Melissa, 45 days 7 ^ 

Tom Bond, 45 days o 7 6 

To bal. of a former account o 5 9 

£1 14s. id. 



32 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

Notable among these teachers was Geo. H. Cook of Hanover, for many 
years State Geologist of New Jersey. One of the most reputable teachers of 
this list was Mr. Thomas H. Briggs, who was said to be the severest 
of all schoolmasters. Mr. Briggs had but one leg, and was consequently con- 
fined to the use of a crutch. Men now living who attended his school report 
that his favorite method of discipline was by throwing the dried up pigtail 
which he always kept at his right on the desk to the unruly boy, requiring 
him to bring it forward to receive punishment. Mr. Briggs was very dex- 
terous in going about the schoolroom. By means of his crutch he was able 
to cover the distance between his desk and the pupil in a surprisingly short 
time. 

Many were the unruly acts committed on the teachers by the pupils of 
the "Old Academy." These outbreaks of deportment toward the new 
teachers frequently led to violence. It is said that some were "smoked out," 
by locking the master in, closing the shutters, and then sealing up the 
chimney. Occasionally a disreputed teacher was snowballed out of town. 
Then too, the big boys who attended in the winter would often pick a quarrel 
with a likely master and give him a thrashing. It is reported that previous 
to the coming of Thomas Briggs there had been four schoolmasters driven 
out successively. Each one stayed no more than a month. The jokes and 
unruly conduct were not committed toward the men teachers alone ; however 
rer.pect for the women of the profession never permitted any to commit acts 
of violence. The story is told of a rather bold joke on Miss Elizabeth 
Magee. It appears that she had a young man admirer by the name of 
Solomon Parsons. His attentions to Miss Magee were so well known by the 
boys that jokes about him became frequent in occurrence, and successively 
more harsh in character. The climax was reached when some culprit of the 
school took a jackass from the stable of a townsman and led him to the 
Academy. On the arrival of Miss Magee in the morning, she was put in 
much of a quandary on her approach to the school, because of the frequent 
clinking of the school bell. She hurried to the building, anxious to find the 
cause. On opening the door at a glance all was explained. The rogue had 
taken the donkey into the building and tied him to the bell rope ; but that 
was not all. In large letters on a placard fastened about the animal's body 
was the inscription, "I am Sol Parsons." Miss Magee saw at once the whole 
intent of the joke. The beast was hastily removed, and the punishment 
inflicted on the culprit, were he discovered, it might be inferred, was severe. 
Mr. Thomas Collard taught both in the old academy and the new school 
building which was constructed on Passaic Avenue in the year 1873. Miss 
Elizabeth McGee, niece of Rev. Joseph Meeker Ogden, and daughter of Dr. 
McGee of Elizabeth Town, for many years during the 50's conducted a select 
school upstairs in the old academy. Miss Alice Arnold and a Miss Genung 
were also teachers in this select school. 

On the occupancy of the school on Passaic avenue, there were but two 
teachers, Mr. Collard and Miss F. H. Megie. Following Mr. Collard in 
1877, Mr. Peter Garabrant was the teacher. A most unique coincident 
accompanied his conducting the school. Mr. and Mrs. Garabrant were the 
sole teachers in the school, their home was in the rooms of the building up- 
stairs, and their children were part of the school. The enrollment at this 
time was about 130 pupils. 

A complete list of the teachers from the time of Mr. Garabrant until 
the present is herewith presented : 1883-85, Albert Brugler ; 1885-87, Walter 



MORRIS COUNTY 33 

D. Wheat ; 1887-90, J. L. Snook ; 1890-96, Frank O. Payne ; 1896-97, Russell 
M. Everett; 1897-99, W. L. Sprague; 1899-1900, A. F. Stauffer; 1900-01, 
Ralph W. Jones; 1901-05, \V. A. Ackerman ; 1905-09, Arthur E. Lovett; 

1909 Charles A. Philhower. 

In 1909 it was found necessary to make further provisions for the 
children of the town. The old building was more than filled, and for seven 
years Kelly Hall on Main street had been used for the overflow. In accord- 
ance with this demand a new building was erected on Fairmount avenue 
in 1910, and occupied at that time with an initial enrollment of 310 pupils 
and 13 teachers. This was an increase of four teachers over the number in 
the old school. At the present time the enrollment of the public school is 

425- 

Various private schools have been conducted in the town. Most popular 
of these were Miss Cooley's school above Dr. Swaim's drug store. Miss 
Hannah Bower's school on Bower Lane, and Miss Thring's school on Main 
street, near Passaic avenue. 

Previous to the year 1856 the schools of the State were governed by 
township superintendents. Mr. Stephen Ward, of Chatham, was one of the 
first to act in this capacity, and for many years was employed as superin- 
tendent of Chatham township. The Rev. J. M. Ogden was the 
leading trustee in this township, and in the Report of the State Superm- 
tendent of Education in the year 1856, Mr. Ogden gave a very excellent 
account of the status and progress of the schools of Chatham. At that time 
the township was made up of a number of one-room schools. In the im- 
mediate vicinity of the town there were three outlying schools: one was 
situated south of Coleman's Hill on the right hand side of the road going 
down Budd Lane, one at Union Hill, and another which probably antedates 
these two was situated on Long Hill where the present red schoolhouse is 
located. 

The school at Union Hill continued until the year 1863 and was located 
at the corner of Division street and Kings Road. The building was eighteen 
by thirty feet, and had a large fireplace with a great stone chimney in one 
end. About the year 1846 this fireplace was removed and a tinplate stove 
was substituted. It is thought that this building was erected somewhere 
about the year 1800. In 1862 in consequence of the reconstruction of school 
districts a new building was erected west of Union Hill and north of Main 
street in the borough of Madison. The various teachers of the original 
Union Hill School of Chatham as accurately as they can be recollected by 
Mr. Frank Bruen were : Miss Hannah Bower, Miss Marietta Tuttle, Mr. 
John Condit, Dr. Forgus, Mr. James K. Magie, Miss Sarah A. Carter, Mr. 
Parsons, Mr. Charles Sayre, Mr. Ashbel Wright, Mr. Henry Smith, Miss 
Anna E. Thompson, Mr. Stephen H. Ward, Miss Johanna B. Thompson, 
Mr. Van Cleve, Mr. Francis Smith, Mr. Richard Robinson, Mr. Wilbur F. 
Morrow, 1863. (The Public Schools of Madison, N. J., by Fred B. Bardon, 

P- 57-) 

From these crude and illy kept country schools many men of note 
received their early education. However the great mass of pupils in the 
district frequently suffered for want of attention denied them on account of 
the demands of a few brighter pupils in the school. The present practice 
of grading the schools is a great departure from this old method of conduct- 
ing these public institutions. Under this system each pupil in the grade 
receives equal attention. The school at the present is composed of an 
up-to-date kindergarten, eight well regulated grades in the grammar depart- 



34 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

ment, and a four-year high school which offers three courses ; classical, 
scientific, and commercial. The first two courses mentioned admit pupils to 
college without examination. The high school was placed on the State Ap- 
proved List in the year 1910. 

New Jersey was the first State to encourage the development of public 
school libraries. This was done by a law which provided that for every 
$20 raised by a school district for the establishment of a public school library, 
the State would give an equal amount, and during each succeeding year 
thereafter, on the event of the district raising $10 for the further develop- 
ment of said library, $10 would be donated by the State. The originator of 
this bill was the Hon. Nathaniel Niles, of Union Hill, whose estate is located 
on Division street. Mr. Niles was at this time, 1871 and 1872, a mem- 
ber of the Assembly from Morris County, and speaker of the house in '72. 
He was the staunch supporter of the public schools of the State. To nis 
honor lies the credit of establishing the school system of the State on a firm 
financial basis. This was done by means of an annual redistribution of the 
State school tax according to the school population of each county. Through 
its operation for the past forty years this law has proved most practical and 
has enabled the poorest county of the State to offer to its children school 
advantages equal to any. [Modern Battles of Trenton, Sackett, p. 78.] 

Travel — From the time the earliest settlers came to Chatham the great 
thoroughfare of travel was over the "Road to Elizabeth Town," the course 
of which was determined by the Minisink Indian trail leading from the upper 
Delaware to the coast. In 1790 a stage coach was running from \\'m. Par- 
rott's hotel in Chatham to Paulus Hook, Jersey City. It is recorded 
that this stage also stopped at Timothy Day"s hotel in Chatham. From 
Jersey City to New York there was a relay which enabled the traveler to go 
from Chatham to New York and back in three days. The main turnpike 
road led to Elizabeth Town. 

The Newark and Morris Turnpike was built on the old stage route in 
the year 1840. Toll gates were located near the present Canoe Brook Golf 
Club and at Union Hill. Mr. George Lees who died recently at the age of 
eighty-three for many years kept the toll gate near the Canoe Brook Golf 
Club. As a result of these toll gates the present Watchung avenue was 
used as a "Shunpike" over which wagons loaded with produce on the way to 
Elizabeth or Newark could shun the tolls of these two gates. On account of 
this practice the road became known by that name. 

In order that the original names of the roads in and about Chatham be 
not lost, a list is herewith presented including some which heretofore have 
been referred to incidentally: Main Street, known as Minnisink Path, road 
to Elizabeth Town, and Morris Turnpike; Passaic Avenue, Budd Lane; 
River Road, road to Turkey ; W'atchung Avenue, Shun-pike ; Fairmount 
Avenue, Long Hill road; Red Road, Maple Avenue (changed back to Red 
Road), named Red Road because of outcropping of red shale; Jockey Hol- 
low road, ran from Summit avenue along the river to Watchung avenue, was 
abandoned when the second track of the railroad was laid ; Lafayette avenue, 
Tyson Lane ; Summit avenue. New Road. 

The Morris & Essex Railroad was built in the year 1837 and marks a 
great step in the means of travel to and from New York. This road ex- 
tended at first from Newark to Morristown. The rails of the tracks were 
made of wood with a thin strip of iron on the top. The locomotive first used 
was a queer sort of "dinky" engine with a single driving wheel. Wood was 
used for fuel. There were three trains dailv each wav, and it was not until 




Chatham in 1843. Drawn by James M. Littlejohn. 



MORRIS COUNTY 35 

the year 1899 that regular Sunday trains were put on. The business of the 
road became so profitable that in 1867 a second track was laid. 

For a number of years about i860, Chatham was a kind of terminus 
for the western coal traffic. It was not an uncommon sight to see dozens of 
trains made up of "coal jimmies" lying in the switches at this junction. 
Chatham was a reserve coal station from which train loads of coal were 
taken to the cities as needed. The Lehigh Valley railroad ran most of its 
coal over the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western at this time. Crews com- 
ing in on loaded coal trains would lie over here for a day and then return 
to the coal fields of Pennsylvania on empty trains. On account of this 
custom, many reckless trainmen were brought to the town, and through 
their conduct about the hotels and saloons they became quite intolerable to 
the inhabitants. So aggravating was their behavior that in 1870 through 
the elTorts of Mr. George Shepard Page, all hotels and saloons were closed. 

Until the year 1902 an engine house was located in the railroad yard 
south of Summit avenue. This was used for the engine of the Chatham 
accommodation train. At one time six engines were housed in this building. 

For a long time the low marshy land north of the old railroad station 
was an unsightly menace to the town. In 1896, through the efforts of the 
ladies of Chatham and Mr. Reasoner, superintendent of the Morris & Essex 
railroad, this land was purchased and filled in. The ground was graded, 
shrubbery planted, and a park laid out, which was named for Mr. Reasoner. 

At one time there were four stations within the present limits of the 
borough. They were located, one at Stanley at the River road crossing, one 
on the northeast corner of Passaic avenue and the railroad tracks, one at 
King's Road crossing, and one at Division street. Ultimately there was but 
one station, which was situated in Reasoner's Park. On the event of the ele- 
vation of the tracks in the fall of 1913, the site of the station was changed 
from Reasoner's Park to its present location west of Fairmount avenue and 
south of the tracks, where a new station was built. 

After considerable controversy between the citizens of the town and 
the council, whether the railroad should elevate or depress its tracks, in the 
year 1913 a decision was rendered in favor of elevation. The railroad com- 
pany began the project in the fall of that year. It was agreed to close Wil- 
low Street, Red Road and Fuller Avenue. Great excavations were made 
between Summit Avenue and the river, and a freight-yard was laid out in 
which were located the freight-station and coal yard. An average elevation 
of about ten feet was made, and the double curve in the Stanley section was 
eliminated. On changing the site of the station to its present location the 
old coal yard and brick yard pond was transformed into a park. 

The traffic on this road has ultimately made it such a profitable enter- 
prise that the stock stands among the highest in the country and there now 
are instead of three trains daily thirty-two each way with nearly as many 
on Sunday. 

It was not until the year 1912 that Chatham was favored with trolley 
service. At this time the Morris County Traction Company was granted a 
franchise over the main street. Double tracks were laid and cars run every 
half hour. The main street was paved with amesite and in consequence 
greatly improved. 

Hotels. Stores, and Post Office — The early growth of Chatham must be 
attributed to some extent to the location of its first hotel or roadhouse which 
was built about the year 1755. A second was erected soon afterward. The 
great practice of farmers carting their produce from the central part of the 



36 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

State to Elizabeth Town and Newark made a demand for these hotels. 
Chatham lying on the turnpike road was about one day's journey from the 
center of the State. Farmers on their way to market were accustomed to 
stay over night at the hotels of the town. The next day by starting very 
early in the morning they would continue to Newark or Elizabeth Town and 
return in the afternoon. Men doing this would "put up" the second night 
in Chatham and on the third day go on to their homes. So extensive was 
this practice that the Rev. Joseph M. Ogden related he had seen at one time 
as many as forty Conestoga wagons in line coming over the hill from Madi- 
son on their way to Newark or Elizabeth Town. The yards of the various 
hotels which flourished here were frequently filled with these wagons and in 
consequence this little village was periodically a scene of considerable ex- 
citement. Loads of charcoal frequently passed through the town, and herds 
of cattle were often kept over night on the flat east of the river. Timothy 
Day was among the first who kept a hotel east of the river. This tavern 
was situated near where the road branches off to Turkey. About 1820 it 
was known as Condit's tavern. Samuel Lee kept a hotel west of Condit's 
tavern. In the year 1808 Israel Lum was the proprietor of an inn on the 
southwest corner of the Turnpike and Long Hill Road (Fairmount avenue). 
From the early part of the nineteenth century the hotel west of the river and 
north of the Turnpike road w-as known as Crowell's tavern. About 1865 
this tavern was kept for several years by a George Philhower. Squire Spen- 
cer's hotel and store combined was located west of the river and south of 
Main Street nearly opposite Crowell's tavern. About thirty years ago on the 
site of the Widow Field's mansion, William Martin built a summer hotel 
which is now known as the Fairview House. Some years ago the business 
of catering to summer boarders was extensively carried on at this hotel 
which accommodated in the maximum about one hundred-fifty guests. 

In Revolutionary times two stores were spoken of in the New Jersey 
Journal. One was probably located east of the river and the other west ; the 
former was Jacob Morrell's. and the latter Foster Horten's. Advertisements 
concerning these stores are found in the N. J. Journal under the date May 11, 
1779. 

The Rev. James Caldwell, in his capacity as deputy quartermaster- 
general, kept a store in the village during the Revolution. [Proceedings of 
Hist. Assn. of N. J., vols. 3-4, ist series, p. 82.] The following amusing 
incident is recorded concerning the parson's ammunition and army provision 
store. Over the door of his establishment were the letters D. Q. M. G. 
(deputy quartermaster general). Abram Clark, a citizen of the town, one 
day was found by the parson gazing intently at these letters evidently trying 
to interpret their meaning. "What are you looking at so earnestly?" asked 
the parson. The reply was, "I am trying to make out what those letters 
mean." "What do you think," questioned Rev. Caldwell. "Well," said 
Mr. Clark. "I can see nothing else in them but, Devilish Queer Minister of 
the Gospel," over which remark the good old parson jocularly laughed. 

For a number of years the most popular store of the town was kept by 
"General" Mahlon Minton. This building was located opposite George 
Parrot's house now occupied by Mr. H. B. Stopford. Some rather exciting 
tales are told about the robberies committed at the old Minton store. Pre- 
vious to i860 it was not an unfrequent occurrence for ruffians to come out 
from the cities or larger towns and successfully rob the country stores. On 
one particular occasion the inhabitants of Chatham were awakened on a 
frosty morning by the cries of fire. It was soon discovered that "General" 




Luni llomestead. corner of Main and Fairmonnt Avcnnc, llialliam. 



M 




■^j 



Lhailiam Hotel (Crow ell Tavern), East Main Street, Chatham. 



MORRIS COUNTY 37 

Minion's store was ablaze. On arriving at the store it was observed that the 
doors were open and that a robbery had been committed in addition to the 
firing of the building. All joined in fighting the fire excepting Samuel Lee, 
proprietor of one of the hotels east of the river, who conceived the idea that 
the culprit was not far on his way down the turnpike road. Jumping on a 
horse he set out in pursuit of the suspected burglar. Beyond Springfield he 
overtook a suspicious character with a load of store goods. Mr. Lee rode up 
and commanded him to stop. The thief drew a single barrel pistol and 
attempted to shoot his assailant, but luckily the weapon would not go oft. Lee 
dismounted and a tussle ensued in which the thief was bound and brought 
back to Chatham. On Mr. Lee's return he found the fire extinguished. 
The goods were restored and the convict was sent to prison, where he died. 
Another incident is related of thieves entering General Minton's house. 
This was one winter evening when Sarah E. Minton, the daughter, was away 
at boarding school in Newton. It was Miss Minton's custom to sleep in a 
down stairs bedroom. In the middle of the night Mrs. Minton was partially 
awakened for some unknown reason, and in her half conscious state noticed 
flashes of light on the ceiling. This phenomenon though unusual faded from 
her consciousness, and she dropped off to sleep. In the morning it was dis- 
covered that the home had been robbed, and upon investigation dirty finger 
prints on the white counterpane of the empty bed of their daughter Sarah, 
and the open window under which the bed stood revealed that this had been 
the source of entrance to the house. Further findings proved that Miss 
Minton's absence was fortunate for her. for upon the capture of the thieves 
to the surprise of the country folk it was found that they were two burly 
negroes. One in confessing his criminality stated that he stood over the 
bed of Mr. and Mrs. Minton with an ax in hand determined to dispatch its 
occupants should they awaken while his accomplice was looting the house. 
(Tradition from Mr. Guy Minton.) 

The first postoffices established in New Jersey were at Trenton. Prince- 
ton, and Elizabeth Town. Chatham in the latter part of the eighteenth 
century was an outpost of the Elizabeth Town office, and mail was delivered 
at the stores by stage. This mail which was addressed Elizabeth Town 
reached the various inhabitants of this territory through voluntary distribu- 
tion by the merchant of the town with whom most of the people of the com- 
munity traded. Of course there was very little correspondence and a letter 
was seldom received. However the practice of letter writing, both of a social 
nature and for business purposes, grew until on July i, 1808. Chatham be- 
came a postoffice station, with Daniel Crane as postmaster. Mr. Crane was 
succeeded on July i, 1814, by David L. Osborne. In the year 1822 Gideon 
Burnett was the postmaster.' Later Samuel Crane and Paul Day served in 
this capacity. The stage route which ran from New York to Easton by way 
of Schoolev's Mountain passed through Chatham and left mail there at this 
time. In the year 1831 William R. MacDougal was postmaster and con- 
tinued in his relationship to the national government for thirty-one years. 
The office was in his store which occupied the east end of the present dwell- 
ing of Mr. Geo. MacDougal. After his incumbency the postoffice was 
located on Bower Lane. Later it passed to Hudson Minton's store on the 
corner of Fairmount and Main, and ultimately to the Wolfe building, in 
which it is located at the present time with Dr. William J. Wolfe as post- 
master. Dr. Wolfe was preceded by Mr. Ezra F. Ferris who was post- 
master in the borough for fifteen years. 



38 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

A postoffice was established in Stanley about the year 1865, in con- 
sequence of the large paper manufactory along the river. This office, though 
small has had an uninterrupted existence from the above date until the 
present. 

The Chatham Fish and Game Protective Association, which has for a 
number of years been not only of great social but of considerable moral 
benefit to the town, was organized April 11, 1889, by a few gentlemen who 
were interested in field sports. The purpose of this association was to pro- 
tect more effectually game and game fish. Its members consisted of many 
noted men of New York City and New Jersey who for a few days in the 
year would come to the club to enjoy gunning in the adjacent country. A great 
many quail were set free, the river was stocked with bass, and the smaller 
streams with trout. Trap shooting was indulged in to a great extent. The 
charter members of the club were George Shepard Page, William \\". Ogden, 
James H. Valentine, William H. Lum, William E. Budd, William Elder, 
Frederick H. Lum, Addison H. Day, Josiah Jowitt, all of Chatham, and 
William F. Bailey of Summit, New Jersey. The first officers were G^oige 
Shepard Page, president ; William W. Ogden, vice-president ; William Elder, 
treasurer; Edward H. Lum, secretary, and William M. Hopping, assistant 
secretary. In the year 1907 a large plot of land, east of the property on 
which were situated at the time a great many ramshackle houses, was bought, 
and the present beautiful lawn and tennis courts were built. 

The club known as the Chatham Wheelmen was organized in 1893, 
when the bicycle craze was rife throughout the country. It was strictly a 
wheelmen's club and enrolled in its greatest prosperity 160 members, most 
of whom were actual bicycle riders. Frequently large numbers would take 
long wheeling detours over the country. With the subsidence of the novelty 
of the bicycle the club slowly evolved into a social organization, and were 
it not for the name, the original significance of the club would be lost. 
Mr. Cyril G. Smith was the first president. The club now numbers about 
seventy-five members. 

Industries — One great factor in the attraction of settlers to this locality 
was its water power which was caused by a slight fall in the flow of the river 
over the remaining terrace of the terminal moraine of the glacial period. 
This in fact was the most deciding element in the location of the village. 
There were mills at four different points in this immediate vicinity ; one at 
the crossing of the Passaic by the road to Elizabeth Town, one at the crossing 
of Summit avenue, one at the crossing of the Shun-pike in Bonneltown, and 
one a short distance up the river above the railroad culvert. It is possible 
that the "Old Forge" was located on the west side of the tail-race near 
Main Street. In about 1850 Parrott's mill was built east of this race way. 
Previous to Parrott's mill diere were on that site at different times a small 
carding mill, a flour mill, and a fulling mill. About 1845 Mr. Chas. Spencer 
had both a cider mill and a saw mill west of the pond. In conjunction with 
these two industries he also ran a store in which he sold the product of his 
cider mill. The names Uncle Bobbie and Aunt Affie as applied to the 
Spencers are familiar cognomens to the oldest inhabitants of the present time. 

The story is told that Uncle Bobbie, consistent with his penurious dis- 
position, in selling whiskey would always put his large thumb inside the 
quart can in which the liquid was drawn, and in this way would profit by 
the amount displaced. On account of this characteristic method of doling 
out his liquor the young men of the town were always on the alert in order 



MORRIS COUNTY 39 

to eet even with Uncle Bobbie. It is said that one Thomas Bond on a cer- 
tain occao^ came into Mr. Spencer's store and asked or a quart of sp.r.ts 
Inauirv was made concerning what he had m which to put it Mr. Bond 
brSt forth an old green bottle with a hollow bottom. Uncle Bobbie re- 
torted at once saying, ^That bottle won't hold a quart." After much arguing 
p°ro and coTspencfr said, ''Tommy, if we can get a q^-f "J ,-^-^7^^^ 
that bottle I will give it to you." He proceeded at once to fi 1 the bottle from 
hs quart measufe, this time measuring without a big thumb inside he 
receptacle The bottle was filled and there was still some whiskey in the 
measure "There," said Uncle Bobbie, "I told you so." At which remark 
Bond calmlv shoved the cork into the bottle, turned ,t upside down, and 
fa°d "You'can put the rest in there." Mr. Bond drank the spmts from 
the bottom of the bottle and walked out of the store with a quart of whiskey 
which cost him nothing more than the exercising of his wit. 

At another time this same Bond was short of cash and desired a drink 
of Uncle Bobbie's refreshing liquor. Before going to the store he wagered 
with the boys that he could get a quart of Mr. Spencer s whiskey on trust. 
This the crowd felt assured was impossible for Bond already owed Spencer 
for too many quarts for which Uncle Bobbie knew there was little chance of 
making settlement. It was winter and Bond wore a long coat. In prepara- 
tion he got two quart bottles, filled one with water, and put one m each ot 
his hip pockets. After his cronies had assembled in the store Bond wa ked 
in and asked for a quart of spirits. Mr. Spencer drew the quart which 
Tommy at once thrust into his pocket saying, 'I cant pay you for this 
today." After some parleying Uncle Bobbie became angry and said. Then 
give it back to me. I won't trust you for any more. "All right replied 
Bond and reaching into his pocket unawares to his humble landlord he pre- 
sented the bottle filled with water. Uncle Bobbie poured it back into the 
barrel and returned the bottle to Bond. The boys went out at once, leaving 
poor Bobbie the victim of their joke. 

One of the "old boys" of the town on a certain occasion when he had 
no monev was refused the accustomed quart of whiskey by Mr. Spencer. 
He was verv thirsty and in consequence was impelled to devise some scheme 
by which to solve the difficulty. It was the practice in those days to take in 
exchange for whiskey, eggs, butter, grain, and whatsoever could be sold 
from a country store. The man in question knowing that Uncle Bobbie had 
a number of hens "setting" at the time, went to the nests m the adjacent 
wagon house and brought back with him a sufficient number with which to 
purchase a quart of whiskey. It chanced that these eggs were soon after- 
wards sent in to Aunt Affie to be used in cooking, who found them to be 
unfit A few days afterward Uncle Bobbie discovered that they were the 
eggs from under the "old blue hen" in the corner of the wagon house ; but 
alas, the clever boy had already disposed of the whiskey. 

A most amusing incident happened with "Aunt Affie" Spencer on the 
occasion of a hunter coming to the store to buy a pound of shot. The 
customer was in a hurrv and "Aunt Affle" in her anxiety to accommodate 
her patron could not find the pound weight of the scales with which to 
weigh the desired amount of shot. Finally becoming confused in her hitile 
search she jocularly cried "Well, a pint's a pound the world around, and 
gave the patient man a superabundant measure full, none the wiser of her 
unaccustomed liberality. Considering Aunt Affie's penurious disposition 
the joke on her was highly appreciated by the town folk. 



40 HISTORY OF CHATHA3,I 

Where Summit avenue crosses the Passaic, mills were located. One 
of these was known as Edward's saw mill. A paper mill was also located 
here. In 1850 there was a millwright shop at this point. 

In an issue of the New Jersey Journal in 1780 there is an advertisement 
of the vendure of a farm which was located about a mile from Chatham near 
the "Old Mill." This old mill could have been none other than the mill at 
Bonneltown, at one time called "Goose Town," and suggests by its name that 
a mill was built at this crossing at an early date. The name "Bonnel's Mill" 
was applied very appropriately to the mill situated in this locality since it 
was owned and operated for a number of years by members of this family. 
Later it was known as Franklin's mill of Bonneltown. The name Ross's 
mills which applied to a combination grist and saw mill is also mentioned 
in the early records. 

Further up the river was located the old paper mill. The principal 
product of this establishment was pasteboard. Jonathan C. Bonnel was the 
first proprietor of this business. The various firms which conducted busi- 
nesses on the Bonnel Mill property were Page. Kidder, and Fletcher (felt 
paper, in 1868) ; Page and Kidder, (same business, mills burned in 1870) ; 
Armour and Co., (manila paper). Later malt creamlets were manufactured 
here. The buildings were also used at one time as a hat manufactory. Page 
and Kidder continued a business of making tar roofing paper on Willow 
street in Stanley. It was here through the experiments of a Mr. Cheever, 
a chemist, with the waste-tar products, that cresolene was discovered. 

One of the earliest industries carried on to any great extent in this 
borough was that of the making of brick. The oldest inhabitants say that 
bricks were first made of clay taken from a pit opposite the old school 
on Passaic Avenue, however none are now living who remember seeing 
bricks made in this locality. It is quite likely that the business there ante- 
dated 1835. Brick clay was found after that date near the present "old 
brickyard"' back of the new school on Fairmount Avenue, and one of the 
earliest promoters of this industry was Benjamin P. Lum, known popularly 
as "Squire Lum." Mr. Nelson Kelley relates that as a boy he was greatly 
interested in their primitive methods of making brick. Clay was mixed in a 
large hollow in which chunks of earth were thrown and over which oxen 
were driven round and round in order to "temper the mortar," as it was then 
termed. Afterward this clay mortar was thrown into a large receptacle and 
ground by means of the old time lever-power. Bricks were made by hand. 
The man making them had six molds in front of him which he filled with 
his hands and leveled with a straight stick called a "striker.'' The bricks 
were then carried oiif to one side to be dried in the sun. Later kilns were 
constructed for this purpose. After the death of Benjamin P. Lum this 
business fell into the hands of Messrs. Charles and Harvey Kelley, and was 
run by them until 1892 when the industry was discontinued on account of 
the scarcity of clay. The maximum output of this business was reached in 
about the year 1875 ^vhen 3.000,000 or more bricks were manufactured each 
year. 

If there is one industry in this locality that stands out more prominently 
than any other it is that of rose growing. The earliest promoter of this 
business was Mr. James M. Littlejohn who was the first to send roses as 
merchandise from New Jersey to New York City. This was m the 
year 1867 at which time Mr. Littlejohn worked in Madison. Later 
he built the first greenhouse in Chatham which was located on Lum 
avenue. The business was continued at his death by his son, James R. 




Stanlev Mill, near Chatham, along Passaic River. 




Parrott's Mill. Chatham. 



MORRIS COUNTY 41 

Littlejohn who erected the present greenhouses east of the clubhouse grounds. 
This industry has grown until at the present time we have the following 
greenhouses located within the borough limits ; those of Frank L. Moore, 
Fairmount avenue ; David Falconer, Hillside avenue ; G. F. Neipp and Wil- 
liam J. Badgley of Floral Hill; Pierson & Green and Smith & Company on 
Lum avenue, Samuel Lum on Main street, John Roper near Division street, 
Phipps Brothers on Hedges avenue, and J. T. Wagner in Stanley. 

In connection with the growing of roses it is interesting to note that 
the widely reputed pink Bridesmaid rose was first grown in this town by 
Mr. Frank L. Moore in 1891. This variety was for a long time the popular 
rose of New York City, and the honor of its original culture lies to the 
credit of Mr. Moore of Chatham who discovered it as a sport on a bush 
called the Catherine Mermet. 

The manufacture of vapo-cresolene liegan on Main street in the upstairs 
rooms of Nelson Kelley's store. The early promoter of this compound was 
J. H. Valentine. Later Mr. George Shepard Page, who was at the time en- 
gaged in a tar paper manufactory in Stanley, took up the industry and ae- 
veloped it to its world-wide extent of the present time. The proprietors of 
the present business are Messrs. Laurence S., Harry DeB., and Albion 
L. Page. 

The grinding of wheat flour was at one time the predominant business 
of Chatham. Mr. George T. Parrott for a number of years conducted a 
very flourishing flour industry at the river. Farmers from Sussex, Warren, 
and the northeastern part of Hunterdon were accustomed to bring their 
grain to Parrott's mill to be ground into flour. This business thrived until 
the extensive flour mills of the west crowded it out of existence on account 
of the subtle competition. 

For some years past the business of digging building sand from various 
glacial deposits in the vicinity has grown to a considerable extent. This 
began in the sand pit formerly known as Gould's sand pit and later as 
Duchamp's. At the present time it is in the possession of Mr. Jacob Snook. 
Mr. August Molitor has developed at Stanley a similar industry which has 
reached a large annual output. Sawmills of this community were also in- 
strumental in attracting people to the town and helping to make this little 
hamlet west of the second mountain the center of business. 

For many years about the time of 1850 the "great island" of former 
times, (known at this date as "the island"), was the place where special 
gatherings of the community were held. Before the time of mosquitoes the 
people of Chatham would often have evening teas on the island, picnics, and 
Children's Day celebrations. However the one great occasion of the year 
was that known as "Bobilation Day." This particular event was celebrated 
on the fifth of July and was a day set aside on which the colored people of 
the northern part of the State might celebrate the anniversary of the Inde- 
pendence of America. A considerable feeling was at this time held against 
negroes and they were not privileged to celebrate on the same day with their 
superiors, the white people. The one great attraction on "Bobilation Day" 
which brought hundreds of people from Newark and the surrounding 
country was a butting match betwen two negroes. It is said that a scene of 
this kind was witnessed annually and that in a certain contest one of the 
negro contestants had his neck broken and died instantly. The immediate 
locality of these celebrations was on that part of the island which extends 
north of the bridge and at the present time is but a narrow strip of land in 
the river. When the earliest settlements were made here this island was 



42 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

undoubtedly many times larger than it now is, otherwise the name "great 
island" could not have been appropriately applied. It is said that for a 
luimber of years the southern end of the island was used as a place to bury 
the slaves of the community. 

Doctors and Laivyers — The locality of Chatham was made famous in 
the time following the Revolutionary \Var by one of its inhabitants known 
as Dr. John C. Budd. He was born in the year 1762 and was the son of 
Berne Budd, a physician at Hanover. In the early part of the nineteenth 
century on the death of Mrs. Moses Lum who occupied the farm now owned 
by Mr. Frank M. Budd, and that time known as "The Lum Plantation," 
Mr. Budd moved from Hanover to this place. Mrs. John C. Budd was the 
daughter of Moses Lum and inherited the right to the farm. The Doctor 
lived to the age of eighty-four and was known in the latter part of his life- 
time as "Old Doctor Budd." Not only was he a physician of great repute 
within his own vicinity, but he also had a high reputation both in the city of 
New York and throughout the whole northern part of New Jersey. Many 
young men received their medical instruction and first practice under the 
direction of Dr. John C. Budd. It was for him that the road leading to 
Cheapside Bridge, or the lower Chatham bridge, was named Budd Lane. 
Besides his great ability as a physician Dr. Budd was reputed to have 
control over the evil spirits. Many incidences occurred where he was re- 
ported as threatening the visitation of his Satanic Majesty and likewise 
where he, as it were, "cast out devils." At one particular time it is said that 
the doctor was frightened by his own devil. One evening on his way from 
visiting a patient at Springfield he stopped at Mrs. Day's hotel east of the 
river. It was late and Mrs. Day was prevented from closing her place of 
business on account of some town characters who continued to play cards in 
front of the open hearth. The doctor on entering was asked by the pro- 
prietress to help her in her trouble. Willing to be of service to her, he said 
to the boys, "The devil will get you fellows if you don't stop playing 
cards at this late hour of the night." Notwithstanding his admonition, they 
kept on playing and the doctor finally became interested in the game, too. 
Mrs. Day much exasperated called from out of the room one of the chimney- 
sweeps who was stopping off for the night on his way from Newark, and 
prepared to dispel the loafers. In the barn was a cowhide with the hoofs 
still attached to it. This she fastened on the chimney-sweep, setting horns 
and tail in place. Then with some heel chains in his hand she sent the urchin 
to the top of the house to play the devil coming down the chimney. The 
fire on the hearth was about burned out, and presently in the dim candle 
light chains were heard in the chimney. Before the company could explain 
the noise "the devil" dropped into the ashes with a thud and began scram- 
bling about. The frightened party together with the Doctor made hasty e-xits 
through doors and windows, and Mrs. Day promptly closed the hotel for 
the night. [The Medical Men of N. J., 1666 to 1866,' by J. Henry Clark, p. 
26.] 

The next doctor of considerable repute was Jephtha B. Munn who lived 
in the latter days of J. C. Budd and fell heir to a great part of his practice. 
His home was opposite the Fairview Hotel in the house occupied at the 
present time by Mr. William Riker. Dr. Munn was very active in the poli- 
tics of Morris County and was made a member of the council (senate) of New 
Jersey in the year 1835. He was elected vice-president of that body, and it 
is said that during the absence of the governor. Hon. Peter D. Vroom, Dr. 



;«- '.-^iL- , -*' • 










r 



lome of lion. Jl|iiIi.i I'.. Miinn, lu'ist Main Street, Cliatham. 




McLaughlin Homo of I-tLvolntionary tiniv^, Xorlli of West Main Street, Chatham. 




'ark at Railroad Station, Chatham. 



MORRIS COUNTY 43 

Munn was the acting governor of the State of New Jersey, and in this 
capacity signed a number of bills. Dr. Munn was a member of the order 
of Free and Accepted Masons and filled the most exalted office of that or- 
ganization in the State of New Jersey as right worshipful grand master. 
Following Dr. Munn came Dr. George M. Swaim, who was the next doctor 
of any length of service in the town of Chatham. He was of an old Newark 
family members of which were among the early settlers of that city. Dr. 
Swaim in connection with his practice had a drug store near the corner of 
Main and Center Streets. He was a surgeon in the Civil War and served 
with Sherman on the march to the sea. 

The next physician of prominence to come to Chatham was Dr. William 
J. ^^'olfe who has been a highly successful practitioner in his profession in 
the village since 1885. He has been active in both borough and school 
aflfairs. At present he is the borough postmaster, and is the owner of one 
of the largest business blocks. 

Other physicians of the town at present are Drs. F. Irvin Krauss and 
Bert A. Prager. Dr. Walter A. Jaquith, chief of the medical stafif of the 
Prudential Life Insurance Company, and Dr. Joseph E. Pollard, also a 
member of this staff, are residents of Chatham. 

For the past fourteen years Dr. Frederick H. Lum Jr. has practiced 
dental surgery in the borough. He has not only a large patronage in the 
town but attracts patients from many of the cities in the northern part of the 
State. Dr. j. P. Ekings has recently established a practice in this profession 
in Chatham. Drs. C. S. Van Orden and his son Charles are prominent den- 
tists of Brooklyn, New York, who reside in the village. 

Most prominent among the lawyers of the town was Frederick H. Lum 
who spent his whole life as a most worthy citizen of Chatham. He was 
not only the organizer of the borough but also the guiding spirit of its initial 
success. The highest respect was given him by the populace whom he 
served consistently until his untimely death. Mr. Lum was born in 1848. 
His early education was received in the public school of the town. Later 
he attended the private school of Julius £). Rose, of Summit, New Jersey. 
After leaving this institution he took up the study of law, under Judge John 
Whitehead and Wm. B. Guild, Esq. of Newark. He was admitted to the bar 
in 1870, and in 1873 became one of the original members of the firm of 
Guild & Lum, which firm at the present continues in the family as Lum, 
Tamblyn, and Colyer. To the great grief of his many friends on account of 
over work Mr. Lum's health broke in the year 1904, and with the best 
medical aid he was not able to recover. In his death in 1906 the Borough of 
Chatham lost its greatest benefactor. 

Another of the prominent lawyers of the town is Mr. Chas. M. Lum. 
After graduating from Columbia College as an honor student, Mr. Lum was 
admitted to the bar as attorney in the State of New Jersey, in 1884, and as 
counsellor in 1889. He became a member of the firm of Lum, Tamblyn & 
Colyer, of Newark, in '89, and has since distinguished himself as a coun- 
selor at law. In this capacity he has rendered invaluable service to 
numerous large estates and corporations. Mr. Lum has always exercised 
great interest in the welfare of Chatham. From the inception of the Free 
Public Library he has been its president. For a number of years he was 
the president of the Chatham Fish and Game Protective Association, and in 
addition to this has given like service as the chief official of the Board of 
Trade. Mr. Lum has not only exercised a great deal of interest in and 
attention to the history of Chatham, but has also reached out into the 



"^ HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

broader field of the history of the state. He is at this writing honored with 
the vice-presidency of the New Jersey Historical Society. 

Prominent among^ the lawyers of Chatham is Mr. Guy Minton who has 
had his law ofifice in Morristown since he began practicing in 1868. At this 
time he was admitted to the bar of New Jersey and succeeded in the prac- 
tice of Mr. George Gage under whom he studied. Mr. Minton is connected 
with various business enterprises of Morristown such as the Morris County 
Insurance Company, Morris County Savings Bank, and the First National 
Bank of which he is the vice-president. He is a most active official in the 
Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church of Chatham, and shows a lively inter- 
est in all the projects of the municipality. 

Mt. Ralph E. Lum, although young in the law profession, has already 
made himself prominently successful. As a pleader in court he has few 
equals. Mr. Lum was graduated from Columbia University in 1900, took a 
post graduate course in law at New York University, and entered the bar in 
New Jersey as an attorney in November, 1900. He was admitted as a coun- 
sellor in 1903. For a number of years Mr. Lum has given his service gratis 
as counsel for the borough of Chatham. In his practice in Newark he stands 
among the highest and in consequence is entrusted with a large and distinc- 
tive clientele. 

Among the younger promising men of Chatham in the law profession 
should be mentioned Mr. Lawrence Day, who is practicing in Morristown, 
and Messrs. Ernest Lum and Ernest L. Quackenbush, practicing in Newark. 

Slavery — Although slavery in its greatest extent was confined to the 
South, the practice was participated in to no small extent in our Northern 
States, and New Jersey was not least among them in the holding of human 
chattels. The institution was formally abolished by the State legislature 
in 1820. Previous to this time the more wealthy families of the locality held 
from one to a half dozen colored men and women in bondage. Mr. Thomas 
Bond, Dr. Jephtha Munn, and Dr. John C. Budd, of Budd Lane, were the 
last to liberate their slaves. The following copies of agreements found 
among the papers of Mr. Washington Bond are in brief the history of the 
negro man Jack, who belonged at one time to Mr. Thomas Bond. 

Know all men by these presents that I, John B. Miller, of the County of Morris 
and State of New Jersey do this day sell and deliver to Thomas Bond for the sum 
of two hundred and twenty-five dollars my Negro man Jack to serve him for the term 
of seven years at the expiration of the said time Thomas Bond is to manumet and 
set free the said Negro man Jack and should the said Jack run away and put the 
said Thomas Bond to any expense to recover him, he the said Jack shall continue 
in said Bond service to pay said expense and loss of time and I do warrant the 
property of said Negro man Jack against me or any other person whatsoever as 
witness my hand this 29th day of December 182J. 

John B. Miller. 

On the back of said document the following entr\- is made: 
I do hereby certify that the within named (Negroman) Jack was sold by me to 
John B. Miller and his age is not to exceed thirty-four years. 

January 10— 1831. Israel Day. 

Another document reads as follows : 

State of New Jersey 

Morris County 

To wit we do herebv certifv, that on this fifth dav of March in the year of our 
Lord. One thousand eight hundred and thirtv one—. Thomas Bond of the township 
of Chatham, in the said Countv of Morri sbrought before us two of the overseers 
of the poor of said township and two of the justices of the Peace of said County, 



MORRIS COUNTY 45 

his slave named Jack, who on view and examination appears to us to be sound in 
mind, and not under any bodily incapacity of obtaining a support, and also is not 
under the age of twenty-one years nor above the age of forty years. In witness 
whereof we have hereunto set our hands, the day and year above written. 

ZoPHAN Freeman 

Overseer of Poor Overseers of the Poor of said Town- 
Archibald Taylor ship of Chatham. 

Overseer of Poor 

Azariah Carter Justices of the peace in and for said 
William Brittin County of ^iorris. 

On the reverse side is written : Rec'd. and Recorded in the Morris 

Certificate of Overseers of the Poor County Register of Manumissions iJth 

of the Township of Chatham and two March 1831 (Liber C, Fol. 16). 
of the Justices of the County of Mor- David Day, Clerk, 

ris. Fee paid. 

There was considerable practice of kidnapping in this vicinity in these 
days of slavery. The following incident was related by Mr. William Budd, 
concerning a slave girl of Dr. John C. Budd. So bold were these kidnappers 
that on an evening in the year 1814, while the family was at tea, they came 
through the back door of Budd's house into the kitchen with a large plaster 
which on catching her was placed hastily over the mouth of the slave. In 
their attempt to take her from the kitchen, she caught hold of the cupboard 
filled with dishes and upset the same. This aroused the family and the poor 
girl was left behind by the kidnappers, who were fortunate in escaping. 
Many mcidents of this kind happened within our vicinity during the time of 
the holding of slaves. Kidnapping was a business with some of the repro- 
bates of New York City and other towns. 

The following advertisement taken froin the files of the New Jersey 
Journal suggests the difficulties encountered by slaveholders of this vicinity : 

ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD— Ran away from the subscriber, early 
this morning, from Mr. John Leary's. at Chatham, a negro man named Scipio, about 
5 feet 9 inches high, about 45 years old, not married, with a flat face and nose, large 
eyes, and grey hair on his head; he had on a claret colored short coat, with lapels, 
a gold lace or old plain hat, short waistcoat, and leather breeches, a pair of shoes 
without buckles. He had a bundle with him containing four shirts, a blanket, and 
a pair of breeches, etc. Whoever will take up said negro, and deliver him to Captain 
Jacob Arnold, at Morris Town, shall have the above reward, and all reasonable 
charges paid by 

John Barrere. 

Civil War Period — When the Civil War broke out, the patriotic spirit 
of the citizens of Chatham was shown by the way in which its sons responded 
to the national call for the defense of the Union. About ten per cent, of the 
male population of the town left their homes and enlisted. 

Again the custom of erecting a liberty pole established in Revolutionary 
times was participated in, however the location was not the same since the 
center of the village had changed. It was no longer east of the Pa'^saic. 
The coming of the railroad and the location of its station attracted the inhab- 
itants westward, and at this time the business section was at the 
crossing of Passaic avenue and Main street. Here in '61 a liberty pole was 
erected. This first one was unfortunately blown down. In an attempt to 
erect another in its place, the pole fell and was broken to pieces. Although 
this seemed to be an omen of an unfortunate outcome of the war, the popu- 
lation of the borough was determined to be represented as standing ardently 
in behalf of the united nation by a pole from which the stars and stripes 
should be floated to the breeze. The third attempt was successful and the 
pole stood for many years. At this time Aunt Dorcas Day, a weaver of 



46 HISTORY UF CHATHAM 

rag carpets, lived on the corner of Passaic avenue, where Mr. Nelson 
Kelley's house is now located. One of the guy ropes was fastened to the 
pear tree standing on the ground of Aunt Dorcas's lot. In the second attempt 
to erect the pole this tree was uprooted and the derrick and pole fell to the 
ground and was broken in pieces. It is said just at this time the mail train 
bound for Newark stopped at the station. Many of the passengers seeing the 
plight that the people were put in by this unfortunate happening, stepped 
from the train. Among the arrivals was one Joseph P. Bradley, who after- 
ward became a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Seizing 
the opportunity otTered him, he climbed upon the roof of the scale house 
situated near tlie corner of the Long Hill road and the turnpike and extem- 
poraneously made the speech of the day. This stirred the villagers to a 
renewed effort and within a short time two large timbers were hewn out, 
fashioned and spliced by the millwrights and carpenters, and soon became 
the liberty pole of the town. The great flag which floated from this pole 
was the product of the skillful hands of the patriotic women of Chatham. 

So anxious were the young men of the town to enlist in the army that 
a load of sixteen was assembled and driven by Mr. Paul Lum to the county 
seat of Hunterdon County, at Flemington, New Jersey. There these anxious 
young patriots became members of Company C, I5tli New Jersey Infantry, 
on August 7, 1862. Of these sixteen, five were killed in the service and six 
wounded. It should be noted that this 15th New Jersey composed of citizens 
of Morris, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties stood seventh in the list of the 
three hundred fighting regiments of the war in the number killed and 
wounded in battle. Of the one hundred five members of Company C, the 
record shows that there was not one deserter among them. 

It is said by one of the number who joined the army from Chatham, 
that when the news of the firing on Fort Sumter reached the village, the 
excitement was so great that more than half of the men of the town volun- 
teered their services. Messrs. Hudson Muchmore and William Lum were 
among the most active, and took their places at once as officers of companies 
of boys who began drilling, hopeful that they might soon enter the army. 

The following is a list as accurate as could be had from the minds of 
veteran residents of the town, Messrs. William Lum and George Spencer, 
of those men who left Chatham and went to war: Merritt Bruen, first 
lieutenant, quartermaster in Co. K 7th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, 
died in the army ; Theodore Bruen, brother of Merritt ; Joseph Marsh ; Lewis 
Bruen ; Stephen Bruen, brother of Lewis ; Andrew Genung, killed at Spott- 
sylvania ; Israel D. Lum, color-sergeant, was wounded by a bullet that killed 
the color bearer in his regiment ; William Lum, brother of Israel ; Elias 
Muchmore, captured at Monocacy, Md., died in Danville prison ; Oscar 
Brokaw. killed at Salem Heights. \"irginia (When the report reached Chat- 
ham of a certain important battle in which the North lost, he was working in 
a carpenter shop of Mr. Harvey Lum. Mr. Brokaw was planing a board 
when the news arrived. He stopped work at once and said to his employer, 
"I shall not complete the planing of that board until the war is over." He 
joined the load of sixteen which went to Flemington and became a member 
of Company C of the 15th N. J. Soon after his departure news 
came of his death. Mr. Brokaw was over six feet tall, and was killed with 
a bullet which struck him in the very topmost part of the head. Had he been 
two inches shorter he would have escaped the fatal shot) ; William Brokaw, 
brother of Oscar : Albert Nichols ; John Nichols, brother of Albert ; Samuel 
Ball; Job Hardman ; William Kelley, navy; Isaac Day, missing after the 



MORRIS COUNTY 47 

battle of the Wilderness, and never heard from ; Edward Day, brother of 
Isaac, was killed at Cold Harbor, Virginia ; Vincent Clark, navy ; William 
Howard, army and navy; Silas Eugene Wonderley ; John Tyson; William 
Trelease (He was the son of a widow in town and worked in the wagon- 
maker's shop. Mr. Trelease was mortally wounded at Spottsylvania, Virginia. 
Israel Lum was marching at his side when he was shot and bending over him 
at his dying moments, asked whether he had any word to send to his mother. 
The response of the patriotic son of Chatham was made in the words of 
Nathan Hale: "Tell mother that 'my only regret is that I have but one life 
to give for my country' ") ; Lewis Turner; Frank Pollard, son of John Celey 
Pollard, wounded and confined during the latter part of the war in Libby 
prison ; Eugene Pollard, brother of Frank ; Marsina Pollard ; Munn Pollard, 
brother of Frank, died in Andersonville Prison; Joseph Spencer, killed 
before Petersburg; Charles Spencer, died in hospital in Nashville, Ten- 
nessee; William H. Thomas; Joseph C. Bower; Manning C. Broadwell; 
Henry W. Pierson ; Thomas Phipps, killed in service ; William Phipps, 
brother of Thomas, carries in his body to this day a bullet received while on 
duty on the firing line; Henry C. Addison; James Riker; George Oakley, 
navy ; Sylvanus Oakley, brother of George ; Daniel Stickles ; Frank Camp ; 
Minard Farley Miller, enlisted a second time; William H. Miller, lost an arm 
at Gettysburg; William Brewster; James Brewster, brother of William; 
Philip Ryan ; Alonzo Edgar ; William Oliver, killed in service ; John N. 
Wilkinson, died in Andersonville prison ; William Highland ; Charles Cucuel ; 
Brittin Durie, William Brant, William Young, wounded; Jacob Miller; 
Charles Miller, brother of Jacob; Samuel Parsons; Aaron Parsons, brother 
of Samuel — these two brothers joined a New York regiment ; John Dennis 
Ferris, joined the 3rd New York. 

Modern Growth — The Chatham Library began previous to the year 
1870 in a most humble way in the upstairs rooms of the old D., L. & W. R. 
R. station. A few books were assembled and were read by the people of the 
town who were interested in the project. The use of these rooms for 
religious ser\'ices caused the promoters of the library to abandon the pro- 
ject. In 1875 ^ committee consisting of Rev. Jas. B. Beaumont, Charles M. 
Lum, \Mlliam H. Lum, Charles H. Hoyt and Dr. George S. Swaim estab- 
lished the organization. The library was located in the home of David S. 
Bower, with Miss Nettie McDougal as librarian. Later it was moved to 
Kelley's Hall, where Mrs. Swaim was librarian for a time. A number of 
books and pictures were donated by Air. William A. Martin. Under this 
organization it continued for about ten years. In the year 1886 the in- 
stitution was revived by James Littlejohn and George MacDougal. At 
Mr. William Martin's death a legacy of $1000 was bequeathed, the in- 
terest and principal of which were to be used only for the purchase of 
books. The library at this time consisted of about 2500 books, which 
were kept in the house of Mr. Bower. Members of a committee served 
gratis as librarians. For a long time this committee consisted of John 
Tallmadge, James Littlejohn, Fred Sayre, and Charles E. Genung. Mr. 
Littlejohn was one of the most active. When the municipality in 1906 
voted one-third mill of the total borough assessment for the maintenance of a 
library, $700 of the Martin endowment together with the books were handed 
over to the borough. For a number of years the leading spirit in the library 
movement has been Mr. Charles M. Lum, who is now the president of the 
association. Under Mr. Lum's wise guidance it has grown to a collection of 
about 6000 volumes. Since the library has been under municipal ownership 



48 HISTORY OF CHATHA:\I 

it has been located in the town hall where Miss Lynda Phillips has for the 
past eight years served the public most acceptably as the borough librarian. 

After the discontinuance of the New Jersey Journal in 1783, no other 
publication of any importance was undertaken in the town until March, 1897, 
when Mr. John DeWitt began the weekly issue of the Chatham Press. 
Previous to this date, Chatham news was published in both the Summit 
Herald and the Madison Eagle. Many of the citizens of the town were 
ardent supporters of these papers. In September, 1898, Mr. J. Thomas 
Scolt became the proprietor of the Chatham Press, and since that time he has 
issued a very commendable publication which now has a circulation of ap- 
proximately one thousand copies per week. It is of interest to note that a 
few issues of a two-page leaflet called The Pioneer were published in 1871. 
This paper appeared monthly, and was edited by Mr. W. E. Gould. 

Until 1892, the government of the town was subject to that of 
Chatham township. In this year under an act of the legislature the com- 
munity was organized into the Village of Chatham and was governed by a 
body known as the village trustees. There were two hundred forty voters 
in the village at this time. The following gentlemen composed the first body 
known as the village trustees : Frederick H. Lum, president ; H. Jowitt, 
J. T. Wagner, George T. Parrott, and Dr. William J. Wolfe. Mr. Hudson 
Muchmore was the clerk. The town existed under this form of government 
but for five years, at the end of which time it was incorporated as a borough, 
with Frederick H. Lum as its first mayor. In the year 1897 the voters had 
increased to three himdred thirty-six. 

It was through the efficient leadership of Mr. Frederick H. Lum that 
the borough aflfairs were so successfully begun. Much wisdom was exer- 
cised in all his acts and in his reviewing of the acts of the council. The 
first council was made up of Edward L. Phillips, Thomas W. Dawson, Ed- 
ward Taylor, C. J. Miller and William L. ]\IcCormick. Chatham was the 
first town to be incorporated under the borough act of '97, and many of the 
forms necessary to carry out the workings of a borough were drawn up by 
Mr. Lum originally, and used by the State as copies. Under Mr. Lum's 
mayoralty the town was furnished with water which was turned on Febru- 
ary, 1898. Under the efficient supervision of Mr. Edward L. Phillips and 
his two co-workers on this committee, Thomas W. Dawson and Frank L. 
Kelly that work was consummated. Electric lights were put in the town in 
the year 1901, through an increased bond issue of Si 5.000, which made the 
total at this time $60,000. To Mr. Lum's credit belongs also the installation 
of the phone service, police protection, and the organization of a volunteer 
fire company. Mr. Lum is a descendant from a long line of ancestry of the 
Lum family which was without doubt among the first settlers in the present 
confines of the borough. His immediate line lived on the homestead prop- 
erty located at the corner of Fairmount avenue and ]Main street. No one 
family has stood out so prominently in the history of affairs in the town as 
that of the Lums. From service in the Revolution and the Civil War, to the 
business enterprise and general welfare of the community, its members have 
been zealously active. 

Following tlie service of Mr. Frederick H. Lum as mayor of the town, 
came Mr. Frank L. Kelly, who was elected in 1903. For many years Mr. 
Kelly had been a co-worker with Mr. Lum and through his tutelage had 
grown to be very competent in municipal affairs and thoroughly capable, as 
his long and successful service has shown, to be placed at the head of the 
borough. Under his mayoralty the water and light plants were enlarged 



MORRIS COUNTY 49 

and extended, municipal building was erected 1906, a sewer system in con- 
junction with the borough of Madison was mstalled June i, ipn, a fran- 
chise was granted to the Morris County Traction Company m 1912 to run 
trolleys on the main street, miles of permanent sidewalks were laid, a gas 
franchise was granted to the Public Service Gas Company m 191 1, the Lack- 
awanna railroad tracks were elevated in 1913, the town was practically freed 
from mosquitoes through the combined laying of the sewer and the work ot 
the Board of Health, and throughout the town hundreds of shade trees were 
planted by the shade tree commission appointed by Mr. Kelley. In conse- 
quence of these many improvements made during Mr. Kelley's administra- 
tion the borough of Chatham offers to all prospective citizens the most mod- 
ern conveniences. 

When the village was set off in 1892 it was divided into two districts 
the northern and the southern, with the railroad track as the dividing line. 
At first the greater population of the southern district was made up of the 
people of Stanley and a few residents on what was known as Duxbury Hill, 
the locality in and about the crossing of Watchung and Fairmount avenues. 
There was little growth for a number of years because of the real estate 
being in the possession of the older residents who would not sell. However 
in tlie year 1900 considerable development began, and from a village of about 
1200 the town grew to approximately 20CX) within ten years. The great 
majority of the newcomers were from Brooklyn and sought homes in "high 
and healthful Chatham," because of its salubrious air and pure water. At 
the present it is a town of commuters, men whose businesses call them daily 
either to Newark or New York. (Josiah Muir, it is said was the first com- 
muter from Chatham to New York.) The growth of the borough has not 
stopped. With all the modern improvements it is quite likely that within the 
next ten years the population will be doubled. No one village west of the 
\\'atchung Mountains can offer more pleasant building sites with greater 
town accommodations than that of the borough of Chatham. 

Officials of Borouqh of Chatham, 1913.— Mayor, Frank L. Kelley. 
Council, Alfred M. Trowbridge, president; William G. Badgley, Percy B. 
Lum, Emory N. Faulks, James W. Wagner, James Whitton. Borough 
clerk', William S. Angell ; borough counsel, Ralph E. Lum; borough attorney, 
Lawrence Day ; recorder, Ezra F. Ferris ; overseer of the poor, William S. 
Shuster; collector, G. Vernon Lum; street commissioner, Paul Molitor; 
assessor' Charles A. Miller; borough electrician, Harvey Vance; borough 
tapper, Charles H. Van Wert. The council meets the first Monday evening 
of each month. Committees— Roads, Trowbridge, Whitton ; finance, Faulks, 
Wagner; police, Badgley, Faulks; fire, Lum, Badgley; sidewalks, Whitton, 
Lum ; sewerage, Councilmen Trowbridge, Badgley, Faulks ; Members, W. M. 
Hopping, J. H. Macintyre. Police, Francis L. Heater; marshals, William 
Shuster Paul Molitor, David H. Crawford, Walter H. Hand. Board of 
Water Commissioners, Alfred M. Trowbridge, William M. Hopping, Emory 
N Faulks. Board of Health, meets last Monday evening of each month. 
President, Dr. B. A. Prager; Hervey S. DeGroodt, J. Thomas Scott, C. I. 
Budd; d'. H. Crawford, secretary and registrar of vital statistics; J. J. 
McCormack, health inspector ; George L. Kelley, plumbing inspector. Board 
of Education— Tames H. Macintyre. president; Joseph H. Conklin vice- 
president; William M. Hopping, district clerk ; Walter V. Sayre, Herbert T. 
Strong David Falconer, Charles A. Van Orden, William Riker, J. Thomas 
^cotf Lawrence Day, counsel. The school board meets the last Tuesday 



50 HISTORY OF CHATHAM 

evening in each month. Joint Sewer Commission: Frank L. Kelley, chair- 
man ; J. Thomas Scott, secretary ; George W. Downs, treasurer. This com- 
mission meets on the third Mondays of January, April, July, and October, 
alternating between Madison and Chatham Council Rooms. 

The newly elected officers at the November election 1913, were Mayor 
Laurence S. Page, to succeed F. L. Kelly, and councilmen Lawrence Day and 
Wesley R. Conklin to succeed Alfred M. Trowbridge and Emory N. Faulks. 

Schools — Public School No. i, with an approved four-year high school 
course. Supervising Principal, Charles A. Philhower. St. Patrick's Paro- 
chial School. 

Churches — The Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. John 
Macnaughtan, pastor; Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. J. H. Egbert, 
pastor; St. Patrick's R. C. Church, Rev. P. A. Maher, rector; Congrega- 
tional Church, Rev. Dr. C. E. Hesselgrave, pastor; St. Paul's Episcopal 
Church, Rev. J. W. Van Ingen, rector. 

Lodges — Chatham Lodge, No. 245, L O. O. F., meets every Friday eve- 
ning in the Wolfe building. Sunset Council, Jr. O. U. A. M., meets every 
Tuesday evening in the Wolfe building. Pride of Sunset Council, Daughters 
of Liberty, meets every Wednesday evening in Wolfe building. U. S. Grant 
Post, No. 117, G. A. R., meets second and fourth Saturday evenings of the 
month in the Wolfe building. Chatham Fish and Game Club. Chatham 
Wheelmen Club. 




MORRIS COUNTY 



51 



ADDENDA 

Page 29, line 6 — This church was used for seventy-three years. Until 1874 it 
had been the practice of the Presbyterian congregation to hold Sunday School, mid- 
week prayer meetintrs and Sunday evening services in the upper room of the Old 
Academy.' When the new school was built on Passaic Avenue the Old Academy 
was moved to Summit Avenue where it now stands. The Presbyterians, in order 
to continue their meetings in a central locality, built a chapel on the site of the 
Old Academv and used it for Sunday School and prayer meetmgs until 1905. The 
congregation' decided to build a church in 1902, and land was purchased for this 
purpose on the corner of Alain Street and Elmwood Avenue. The work was begun 
in 1904 and on June S. 1905, the Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church was dedicated 
to the honor of The Rev. Jos. Meeker Ogden. who had served the church for forty- 
five years from 1828 to 1873. 



INDEX. 



Academy. Old, 31, 32. 
Andre, Major, 16. 
Archean Era, I. 
Asgill, Captain, 23. 24. 

Battle of the Churches, 27. 

Bergen, 4. 

Bobilation Day, 41. 

Bonnel's Mill, 40. 

Bonnel Town. 40. 

Borough of Chatham, 48, 49. 

Bradley. Hon. Jos. P., 45. 

Brainard, Rev. David, 26. 

Brick-Making, 40. 

Brittin, Capt. Abraham, 26. 

British Soldiers. 19. 20. 

Budd, Dr. John C. 9, 41. 

Budd. John. 8. 

Budd Lane. 9. 

Budd Lane School, 33. 

Burlington County, 7, 8. 

Caldwell, Rev. Jas., 11, 20, 21, 36. 

Caldwell. Mrs. James, 20. 

Canoe Brook, 5. 

Carteret Purchase, 5. 

Catholic Church. 29. 

Cemeteries, 30. 

Cenozoic Era. i. 

Chatham Bridge, 18. 24. 

Chatharn Bridge (Poem), 24, 18. 

Chatham Imprints. 15. 

Chatham, Name, 10. 

Chatham Press, 47. 

Chatham Wheelmen, 38. 

Civil War, 45. 

Company C, 15th N. J.. 46. 

Condit's Tavern. 36. 

Congregational Church, 30. 

Conflicting Claims, 8. 

Connecticut Farms. Battle of. 20, 

Continental Troops, 23. 

Council, First. 48. 



Court-Martial, 19- 

"Cow Chase," 16. 

Crane, Daniel, 37. 

Crowell's Tavern, 36. 

Day, John, 8. 

Dav, Stephen, 20, 21. 

Da'y's Tavern (Timothy Day), 9. 20, 

21 22. 
D'Anteroche, Count, 17. 
Dead Lake, 2. 

Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad, 35. 
Distillery, 38. 

Elevation, Railroad, 35. 
Elizabeth Town, Township of, 5. 
Episconal Church, 30. 

Fairmount Avenue School, 33- 

Families, Early, 9. 

Fish and Game Club, 38. 

Fishawack. 3, 7. 

Flour Mills. ,38, 41. 

Ford, Col. Jacob, 11, 12. 

Forges. Old, 7. 38. 

Franklin Mill, 40- 

French Regiment, 22, 23. 

Gas Company. Public Service, 48- 

Geological Story, I. 

Glacial Deposits. 2.' 

"Goose Town," 40. 

Gordon Survey. 7. 

Gould. John, 30. 

Great Black Swamp, 8. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 19. 
Hancock. Father John, 29. 
Hayw^ard, John (Purchase). 8. 
Horton, Azariah, 10. 
Horton, Foster, 9, 36. 
Hunterdon County, 5, 8, 9. 

Ice Sheet, i. 

Indian Sachems, 3, 5. 



52 



HISTORY OF CHATHAM 



Indian Villages, 4. 
Island, Great, 6, 41. 

"John Day's Bridge," 10. 

"Karmel the Scout," 12, 19, 20. 

Kelley, Frank L., 48. 

Kollock Shepard, 15, 17. 

Lafayette, Marquis de, 17, 18, 26. 

Lake Passaic, 2. 

Lee, Gen. Chas., 10, II, 12. 

Lenni-Lenr--' Indians, 2. 

Liberty Pole, 15, 45. 

Library, 47. 

Littlejohn, Jas. M., 40. 

Log School House, 31. 

Long Hill, 3, 6. 

Long Hill School, 33. 

Lowantica, 17, 13, 23. 

Lum, Benjamin P. (."Squire Lum"), 

40. 
Lum, Chas. M., 43, 47. 
"Lum Estate," 9, 42. 
Lum, Fred H., 43, 48. 

MacDougall, \Vm. R.. 37. 

^lastodon, 2. 

Maxwell's Brigade, 20. 

McDougall, Gen., 12. 

Mesozoic Era. i. 

Methodist Church at Turkey, 27. 

Methodist Church, First, 29. 

Miller, Col. Jacob, 18. 

Minnisink Crossing, 2, 3, 6. 

Minnisink Trail, 2, 34, 5, 7, 26. 

Minsi, 2. 3. 

Minton, "General" Mahlon, 56. 

Minton, Guy, _!•;. 

"Modern Montpelier," 27. 

Morrell, Jacob, 9, 10, 19, 36. 

Morris County, g. 

Munn, Hon. jephtha B., 42. 

Nicholl's Grant, 5. 

Niles, Hon. Nathaniel, 34. 

New Jersey Journal, 15, 17. 

New Jersey Troops, Mutiny of, 22. 

Officials, 1913, 49. 

Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church, 

9- 
Ogden, Rev. Jos. Meeker, 27, 33, 36. 

"Old Forges," 38. 

"Old Sow," 10. 13. 18, 20. 

Page, Geo. Shepard, 30, 35, 38, 41. 

Page, Laurence S., 41. 

Paleozoic Era, i. 

Park. Reasoner's, 35. 

Parrot's Mill, 9. 4i- 

Passaic Indians, 3. 

Passaic, Name. 3. 

Passaic Valley, 4. 

Pennsylvania Troops, Mutiny of, 22. 

"Pioneer. The." 48. 

Presbyterian Church at Bottle Hill. 27. 

Presbyterian Church, First, 29. 

Principals of School, 32. 

Proprietor, West Jersey, 7. 



Purchases, Early, 6. 

Railroad, Morris and Essex, 35. 
"Rebel Paper," 15, 16. 
Revolutionary War, 7, 10. 
Road to Elizabeth Town, 34. 
Rose, Bridesmaid, 41. 
Rose Growing, 40. 
Ross's Mill, 40. 

Sand Pits, 41. 

Saw Mills, 4, 38, 39- 

Scheyichbi, 2. 

School af Passaic Avenue, 32. 

Scotch Plains Gap, 6. 

Scotch Presbyterians, 26. 

Seeley's Tavern, Col., 10. 

Settlements, 4, 7. 

Sheldon, Col., 14. 

Short Hills Gap, 6. 

Shunpike. 34. 

Slavery, 44. 

Soldiers of Civil War, 46. 

Soldiers of Revolution, 13. 

Spencer, ".\unt Affie," 31. 

Spencer, "L'ncle Bobbie," 38, 39. 

Spies. British. 19, 23. 

Springfield, Battle of, 

Stanley Hall, 30. 

Stanley Post-Office. 37- 

State School Funds, 34. 

Sterling, Lord, 10, 20. 

Streets. Original Names of, 34. 

Sullivan, Gen., 14. 

Sunken Lands, 2. 

Swaim, Dr. Geo. M., 42. 

Tantomwom. 3. 5. 

Teachers. Early. 31. 

Terminal Moraine, 2. 

Timothy Day's Tavern, 36. 

Toll-gates. 34. 

Tories. 13. 19. 

Traction Company, Morris Co., 33, 48- 

Track-rock Eruption, I. 

Turnpike. Newark and Morris, 34. 

Tuttle. Rev. Jos. F., 13, 14. 

Unalactigo, 2, 3. 
Unami, 2. 
L^nion Church. 27. 
L'nion Hill School, 3Z. 

Valley of Great Watchung, 7. 
Vanderpoel. Polly, 17. 
Vapo-cresoline, 41. 
Village of Chatham, 48. 
Village Trustees, 48. 
Volcanic .\ction, 1. 

Ward, .\aron, 14. 
War of 181 2, 26. 
Washington, Gen. Geo., 11, 12, 13, 10, 

19, 21, 24. 
Washington Irving. 14. 
Whippanv. 7. 

Wigger, Right Rev. Wm. M., 29. 
Winds. Gen.. 18. 
Women of Revolution, 14. 



LIBRARY OF 



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